Nine held for another seven days over Kyrenia ferry disaster

Those appearing before the court included the ship’s captain, deputy captain, six crew members and a director of Filo Denizcilik, the company linked to the vessel.

The ferry sank off Kyrenia on August 30 in one of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent North Cyprus history. The latest official figures put the death toll at 18, with 10 people still missing.

During Thursday’s hearing, police presented new details about the investigation, including findings concerning repairs carried out on the vessel, its watertight doors and the ship’s voyage data recorder, commonly known as the “black box”.

Police said an engineering report prepared by the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers had described earlier repair work on the ferry as “superficial, inadequate and unacceptable”.

According to the police evidence presented in court, investigators are examining whether cracks and other structural problems on the vessel may have been connected to inadequate repairs carried out before the disaster.

Police also told the court that the ship’s watertight doors had been left open before the voyage.

Such doors are designed to prevent water entering one section of a ship from spreading into others. Police said that if the doors had been closed, the ferry might have taken on water more slowly, potentially giving passengers and crew more time to escape or be rescued.

Responsibility for ensuring the doors were closed would normally involve senior members of the crew, including the captain and engineering staff, the court heard.

The investigation is also examining claims that the vessel had suffered damage before the fatal voyage and whether warnings about that damage had been passed between senior crew members.

The ship’s voyage data recorder was located on September 25 and later sent to Türkiye, where specialists extracted its data before handing the material to the TRNC Police General Directorate.

Police said examination of the recordings had now begun. The device may contain conversations involving crew members and communications made before and during the incident.

The defence challenged several aspects of the police case.

Lawyers argued that the damage described by investigators had not yet been proven to have caused the sinking and disputed claims that the affected section of the vessel was serious enough to allow large quantities of water inside.

The defence also questioned whether the open watertight doors could have played a decisive role in the sinking.

One lawyer argued that alarms should have sounded if significant quantities of water were entering the vessel. Police responded that the ship’s machinery and systems had become disabled after water entered.

The defence also raised questions over the emergency response, arguing that the actions of rescue authorities should form part of the wider investigation into the deaths.

Police said these claims were being treated as allegations and that the investigation remained ongoing.

A final expert accident report has not yet been completed, while analysis of the black-box recordings is also continuing.

The court ruled that the nine suspects should remain in custody for another seven days while police carry out further inquiries.