Filo Jet expert: the captain did not reduce speed and abandoned the vessel before the passengers

Maritime expert Ulus Göker, brought in to investigate the sinking of the Filo Jet catamaran off Kyrenia, said that the captain did not reduce speed before the vessel sank, failed to alert the passengers and abandoned the vessel before them. The vessel was travelling at 18–20 knots and, in the expert’s assessment, the simplest solution would have been to stop.

Göker is studying documents and video recordings together with the police. He notes that if the vessel had been stopped, the sinking would have occurred much later, giving the crew time to organise an evacuation. No one explained to the passengers what they should do.

The distress signal was not sent in time: the incident was discovered when a sailor who was nearby spotted orange life rafts on the water and reported them to the coast guard. The eight rafts on board were not deployed as planned — they opened by themselves under pressure when the vessel listed onto its side.

The ship’s log, one of the key documents in the investigation, has still not been obtained: under the rules, the captain is required to take it with him when abandoning the vessel. Documents concerning liability insurance for passengers, as well as hull and machinery insurance policies, have also not been found.

Göker also pointed out that the commission responsible for inspecting vessels flying the flag of the TRNC has not been operating for between three and five years: no one was appointed to replace members who had retired. The captain’s licence issued by Honduras is considered inapplicable by the expert — such a document is valid for working on a vessel flying the Honduran flag, but not under the flag of the TRNC.