Questions raised over ferry captain’s licence and seaworthiness certificate after Kyrenia sinking

Kyrenia, Cyprus. Questions have been raised over the authenticity of the ferry captain’s licence and the status of the vessel’s safety certificate after the ferry sank off the coast of Kyrenia on Sunday, killing at least eight people.

Captain’s licence

A document said to be the captain’s licence circulated on social media on Monday, with claims that it had been issued by the Republic of Mozambique.

The document was generated by artificial intelligence. The north’s “transport minister”, Erhan Arikli, subsequently published another document which he said was the captain’s licence, issued by the Republic of Honduras.

According to the Honduran licence, the captain is 67-year-old Mustafa Oz. The licence was issued on October 30, 2024, and is valid until 2029.

However, many other details on the licence are obscured by the poor quality of the photograph published by Arikli. The Cyprus Mail has contacted the Republic of Honduras’ directorate-general of merchant maritime and is awaiting a response.

Safety certificate

The ferry’s certificate of seaworthiness, issued in June by Istanbul-based ship classification firm Turk Loydu, has also been questioned.

Although the certificate states that it is valid until 2029, Turk Loydu’s online database lists it as “invalid”.

It remains unclear whether the certificate was declared invalid before or after the ferry sank. The Cyprus Mail has contacted Turk Loydu and is awaiting a response.

Previous repairs

Newspaper Yeniduzen earlier reported that the ferry had undergone repairs in Greece in recent years.

It quoted Turkish maritime engineer Erdal Kilic as saying: “I know the boat was damaged twice and both times it was repaired by people who were not qualified at all”.