Turkish Cypriot PM heads to Istanbul to review key report on ferry disaster

ISTANBUL

(AA Photo)

Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ünal Üstel was due in Istanbul on Sept. 7 to receive a key report on the ferry accident off Kyrenia, as search efforts continue for 14 people still missing in the Mediterranean.

A high-speed passenger ferry operating between Kyrenia Port in Turkish Cyprus and Taşucu Port in Türkiye’s southern Mersin province began taking on water from its bow shortly after departing around noon on Aug. 30.

The vessel, carrying 267 people, capsized while attempting to return to port.

The death toll has risen to 14, while search and rescue operations remain underway to locate the 14 people still missing.

Üstel previously indicated Sept. 7 as the date when the next steps regarding the possible recovery of the wreck would become clearer.

The premier anounced he will travel to Istanbul to review preliminary reports prepared following the accident and seek to determine, through meetings with relevant officials, whether it would be possible to recover the wreck.

The vessel lies at a depth of approximately 510 meters, and authorities have yet to reach its black box.

If the reports conclude that all bodies can be recovered and that the black box can be retrieved, allowing the investigation to proceed properly, authorities may decide against raising the wreck, reports said.

However, if the reports determine that this would not be feasible, efforts will be launched to recover the vessel.

According to Üstel’s announced schedule, he will also meet with senior officials from the ship’s insurance company in Istanbul. The premier is also expected to hold talks in the capital Ankara.

The findings of the reports under review, as well as the next steps, will be shared with the families of those still missing and the public upon his return.

TCG Alemdar, the deep-sea search vessel, continued operation on Sept. 6, while TCG Işın temporarily left the area to refuel and will resume search efforts once refueling was completed.

As the investigation intensified on Sept. 3, authorities determined that the captain had originally obtained a maritime license from Türkiye, but that it had expired after he failed to renew it following a 10-year hiatus from sailing.

The captain was later reportedly found to have used his old license number when contacting individuals in Greece and to have obtained a new license from Honduras in exchange for $3,500.

He subsequently secured a certificate of competency in Turkish Cyprus and operated the ferry using those documents.

The vessel’s second captain told a court that it was known before departure that Taşucu Port, the ferry’s intended destination in southern Türkiye, was closed.

Expert reports prepared as part of the investigation indicated that the disaster could have been averted had the vessel returned to port slowly, immediately after it began taking on water.