A court in Turkish Cyprus has ordered the captain of the Filo Jet and eight other suspects held for three more days as authorities investigate suspected negligence in the ferry sinking that left eight people dead and 20 missing.
The high-speed passenger catamaran capsized on Aug. 30 shortly after leaving Kyrenia for Taşucu in the southern Turkish province of Mersin.
Authorities said 267 people, including eight crew members, were aboard.
Fourteen suspects appeared before the Kyrenia District Court on Aug. 31.
Nine, including the captain, deputy captain, crew members and a company employee, were kept in custody.
Five others, among them two port officials, were released pending further proceedings.
The next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3.
The captain and crew told the court that the vessel’s bow broke off after it encountered waves, causing it to capsize.
They maintained that weather conditions were suitable at the time of departure and that the ferry’s operating permits and certificates were valid.
The cause of the sinking has not been established.
Survivors, however, alleged that the crew failed to organize an evacuation and that the captain and other crew members were among the first to leave the vessel.
The court instructed police to examine passenger videos and witness accounts as part of the investigation.
Turkish Cypriot Transport Minister Erhan Arıklı said investigators were considering possible technical or structural failures, stability and loading problems, human error and sea conditions.
Navigation and radio data, footage, maintenance records, alarm logs and weather reports are also being reviewed.
The wreck lies at a depth of 514 meters.
Türkiye has dispatched a deep-sea search vessel to assist efforts to reach the wreck and recover its voyage data recorder.
Maritime records show that the 26-year-old ferry previously operated as the Iris Jet under the same IMO number.
A 2009 French court ruling records that the vessel struck a quay at Taşucu in October 2003 and developed serious water ingress days later.
No evidence has so far linked that incident to Sunday’s sinking.
Classification society Türk Loydu told Milliyet that no inspection required under the vessel’s current classification schedule was missing or overdue.
Investigators are examining the ferry’s maintenance, repairs and certification history.
