Private Salvor to Join Search for Remains in Wreck of Lost Turkish Ferry
A private salvor will be brought in to help search the wreck of a passenger vessel that capsized and sank off Northern Cyprus late last month, according to local officials.
On August 30, the catamaran fast ferry Filo Jet (or FiloJet) sustained flooding towards the bow shortly after departure from the port of Kyrenia (Girne). The vessel was headed for Tasucu, Turkey. According to the chief officer, the master opted not to return to port immediately; passengers recounted instructions from the crew to stay put and stay calm. Of those on board, 239 (or 241) people managed to escape. 14 have been confirmed dead, and an additional 14 are believed to have gone down with the vessel.
"One man came and said, 'Oh, this is just normal, nothing will happen.' Then, when the seats came loose and the ship started taking on water, they tried to turn around. At that moment, the ship capsized. We managed to get out by breaking the window on the upper deck," survivor Sadik Saribuga told Anadolu Agency.
Turkey, Northern Cyprus' sponsoring state, has supplied the use of two naval salvage vessels equipped with ROVs to search the wreck. Day by day, this effort has discovered additional bodies in the interior, some of which have been recovered. On Tuesday, Northern Cyprus prime minister Unan Ustel said that "a private company with expertise and the necessary technical capacity in deep-water search operations has been authorized" to join the operation.
The local authorities have initiated a criminal investigation into the circumstances of the casualty, and there has been a shake-up in the territory's transport administration as well. Top transport official Erhan Arikli was swiftly dismissed, along with three subordinates, including the territory's ports director.
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Northern Cyprus is a breakaway territory created during the 1974 invasion of the island and has been a self-declared independent state since 1983. Its sovereignty is recognized only by Turkey, and the Greek-aligned Republic of Cyprus rejects its independence.
Top image: Filo Jet (file image courtesy VesselFinder)
