Kyrenia court told sunken ferry had malfunctions — Cyprus Mail
The Kyrenia District Court heard that recordings from the onboard recorder of the ferry that sank on August 30 contained references to malfunctions in the generator, exhaust system and steering. A police representative stated this during a hearing in the case of nine people detained after the disaster, Cyprus Mail reports.
Onboard recorder records
According to Yeniduzen, the police representative told the court about conversations recorded by the device. In one of them, the first officer, who is among the nine detainees, said that the vessel needed a full overhaul.
The recordings also mention that during a previous voyage, the ferry nearly collided with another vessel due to a steering problem. In addition, the recorder contained a conversation stating that another captain had previously been involved in an accident on this vessel in the town of Yumurtalık in Turkey's Adana province. The identity of that captain has been established, according to the police representative.
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Period of detention
Parts of the ferry recovered from the water are currently being examined by marine engineers. An investigation has also been launched into the actions of the mechanic, who, according to the police representative, may have known about all the vessel's malfunctions. The mechanic currently does not have suspect status.
The court extended the detention of all nine detainees by seven days: captain Mustafa Öz, seven other crew members, and the director of the operating company Filo Denizcilik. The next hearing is scheduled for October 23.
The ferry departed from the new port of Kyrenia for the Turkish town of Taşucu with 259 passengers and eight crew members on board. Following the incident, the deaths of 27 people have been confirmed, while three-year-old passenger Anni Asel Hilaloğlu is still considered missing. Before the hearing, families of the dead and missing gathered outside the courthouse, demanding justice.
