Sinking off the northern coast of Cyprus

The high-speed passenger catamaran Filo Jet capsized and sank shortly after departing Kyrenia port for the Turkish port of Taşucu in Mersin province on Sunday, 30 August 2026. A total of 267 passengers and crew members were aboard when the vessel experienced rapid flooding in turbulent waters following severe Saturday storms. Rescuers recovered between 239 and 241 survivors from the sea, while eight victims, all confirmed to be Turkish nationals, were found dead. Between 18 and 20 passengers remained unaccounted for on Monday as search teams combed an expanding debris field filled with luggage, life jackets, seats, and wreckage drifting on strong currents.

Deep-sea search operations at 514 meters

The catamaran rests on the seabed at a depth of 514 meters off the coast of Kyrenia. Search teams have deployed coast guard vessels, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles dispatched from Turkey, including the specialized emergency vessel Yaşam. Specialized salvage teams scheduled an operation to reach the submerged wreck on the evening of Tuesday, 1 September 2026. The mission focuses on penetrating interior passenger cabins for any trapped individuals and recovering the voyage data recorder to clarify the mechanical cause of the sinking.

Survivor testimonies and evacuation conditions

Surviving passengers stated that water began entering the catamaran shortly after leaving the harbor, but crew members failed to take action following initial warnings. Mobile phone recordings from inside the vessel showed passengers scrambling along the sharply tilted hull and calling emergency services while others attempted to extract trapped travelers. Ayten Biçer recounted how floating baggage struck her in the water, causing her 12-year-old daughter Miray and six-year-old son Mehmet Asaf to slip from her grasp after the girl's oil-covered shoes slid through her hands. Outside Kyrenia port, her husband Hayri Biçer spoke about the loss of their children.

“We were not able to intervene. We lost our children. We made a great effort, but we were unable to save our children. Two of my children are gone. One of my sons is alive. Two of my three children are gone. We left them. We leave them on this island as we move on.”

Detentions and previous mechanical history

A Kyrenia court ordered the detention of nine individuals on Monday, including the authorized director of operating firm Filo Denizcilik Ltd., the vessel captain, the chief officer, the chief engineer, and five crew members identified by initials A.Ö., M.Ö., M.E., Z.Ö., M.G., S.E., G.G., V.H., and R.İ. The court requested supplementary technical assessments and witness examinations while checking for a parallel investigation in Turkey. The captain claimed in testimony that heavy waves fractured the bow. Turkish Cypriot official Ünal Üstel stated that port authorities had originally barred the catamaran from departing due to adverse weather before permitting it to sail roughly an hour later.

Built in 2000 at the Iris Catamarans shipyard in La Rochelle, France, the 42.8-meter vessel was delivered on 1 June 2001 as Iris Jet with a 346-passenger capacity. A 2009 French court ruling documented that the craft had suffered severe water ingress following an unaddressed pier collision in Taşucu on 26 October 2003, leading to prolonged debt seizures and auctions in 2007 and 2014 before Filo Denizcilik Ltd. acquired and renamed it in 2024.