Authorities in northern Cyprus have suspended all sailings by Turkish ferry operator Filo Denizcilik after Filo Jet sank off Kyrenia, leaving eight people dead and 20 missing, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
Filo Jet was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew from Kyrenia to Taşucu in Turkey’s Mersin province when it began taking on water shortly after departure on 30 August.
A total of 239 people were reached alive. Eight were confirmed dead and 20 remained missing. Nineteen injured survivors were admitted to hospital, with 13 discharged by 1 September.
Police Assistant Inspector Mehmet Mannaş told Girne District Court that investigators had taken more than 100 statements. Some survivors said panic broke out as water entered the ferry and alleged that crew members failed to provide adequate assistance with life jackets and evacuation.
Judge Hazal Hacımulla ordered the captain, seven other crew members and a Filo Denizcilik official held for three days as suspects in an investigation into causing death through negligence and carelessness.
An immediate investigation was also ordered into five other people, including Filo Denizcilik shareholders and port department officials.
Prime Minister Ünal Üstel said officials who authorised Filo Jet’s departure had been removed from their posts and replaced while the investigation continued.
The court heard that Filo Jet held the required operating permissions and had received approval from classification society Türk Loydu in June 2026. Local authorities had also certified that the ferry carried sufficient life jackets and life rafts.
Investigators are examining an earlier accident involving Filo Jet and the circumstances of its acquisition by Filo Denizcilik in 2024. Turkish Navy rescue vessel TCG Işın began operations off Kyrenia on 1 September using sonar and a remotely operated vehicle capable of working at depths of up to 1,000 metres.
An object believed to be the wreck was located at a depth of about 550 metres, but its identity had not been formally confirmed. TCG Alemdar was expected to join the operation.
The cause of the sinking has not been established. Filo Denizcilik Ltd Şti provides passenger and freight transport between Turkey and Cyprus and maintains offices in Girne, Gazimağusa, Taşucu and Mersin.
Türk Loydu is a Turkish classification and conformity-assessment organisation providing classification, certification and technical inspection services for the maritime and industrial sectors.