Questions raised over Filo Jet departure approval after fatal sinking

Kyrenia, Cyprus. New details have emerged about the conditions under which the Filo Jet catamaran was permitted to leave the occupied port of Kyrenia on its final voyage, which ended with the vessel sinking and at least eight deaths.

The catamaran’s history, including a water ingress incident in 2003, has also come under scrutiny as investigations continue.

Departure approval questioned

Turkish Cypriot leader Unal Ustel said the “Port Department” had initially prevented the Filo Jet from leaving because of poor weather conditions. About an hour later, however, the vessel departed for Tasucu, near Mersin.

Shortly after leaving port, while about four nautical miles off the Kyrenia coast, the catamaran began taking on water, developed a severe list and capsized. It later sank at a depth of 514 metres.

The initial refusal and subsequent approval have prompted anger in the north. Turkish Cypriot journalist Aysemden Akin called for the publication of the departure document, inspection reports and the route operating permit.

Questions remain over who reversed the initial decision, what changed within an hour and who signed off on the departure permit.

Inspection records and data recorder

The “Port Department”, responsible for the relevant checks, falls under Erhan Arikli, the “minister” responsible for transport.

Arikli said Turk Loydu, the Turkish classification society, inspected the Filo Jet at the Akdeniz shipyard about two months before the accident. The scope and findings of the inspection have not been made public.

It remains unclear whether the inspection covered the watertightness and structural integrity of the catamaran’s two hulls, its stability or its emergency systems.

Arikli said the exact causes of the disaster would be determined through an examination of the ship’s data recorder. Recovery is expected to be particularly difficult because the wreck lies at a depth of more than 500 metres.