Filo Jet VDR Records Capture “The Ship Is Going to Sink” Warning

The suspects detained in connection with the Filo Jet disaster, which occurred off Kyrenia on August 30 and claimed 27 lives, appeared in court for the ninth time today.

Police told the court that the investigation was ongoing, search and rescue operations were continuing to find the last missing person, and experts from Turkey would examine the accident.

Police said a list of experts appointed in Turkey had been submitted and that they would travel to the country to investigate the incident. A maritime law expert also joined the investigation team today. Police added that the responsibilities of the Ports Department would be examined as part of the investigation.

Damage to the vessel, recovered parts, weather reports, fault records obtained from the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) and other technical details will be examined by the experts arriving from Turkey, police said.

The court was also given an update on the examination of the VDR. Police said the device had been under examination for 32 days, with another 34 days available to complete the process. Recordings obtained so far included statements indicating that several systems on the vessel, including its radar and cameras, had been damaged.

The recordings reportedly captured passengers complaining about the vessel before the disaster, as well as a conversation about a passenger fainting from fear while on board. Discussions suggesting that the ship had previously taken on water were also heard.

The court was told that the recordings included the statements, “We are the only thing on the ship that is intact; everything else is half-broken,” and “The ship is going to sink.”

The defence lawyer noted that 54 days had passed without receiving responses requested from Turkey. The lawyer said no information had been obtained from Turkey regarding the vessel’s documents, maintenance or classification, adding that, at the current pace, the investigation could be completed within the legally prescribed 90-day period.

Police confirmed that the defence’s account of the delays was accurate, stating that the only information received from Turkey so far was the list of experts.

The defence lawyer argued that the VDR was designed to record speed, sound and route data and had no other function, claiming that faults could not be identified through the device. Police responded that faults could be tracked through the alarms recorded by the VDR.

The lawyer maintained that faults could be identified from the audio recordings but argued that the relevant fault records had not been extracted in 32 days and could not be retrieved.

Audio recordings concerning an alleged fault in the vessel’s steering system, raised at the previous hearing, were also discussed in court. The defence lawyer argued that the statements in the recordings did not directly prove that the ship’s steering system was faulty, adding that there was no problem with the main steering system.

Police said the joystick steering controls at the rear of the vessel had malfunctioned, but no audio recording indicating a fault in the main steering controls at the front had been identified so far.

The defence lawyer argued that the fault in the rear steering controls could not have caused the accident and said the recordings alone could not technically verify claims that various components on the vessel were defective. Police said the faults, including those involving the steering system, would be examined alongside the team of experts arriving from Turkey.

The defence also accused police of merely listening to audio recordings obtained from the VDR without conducting a technical and substantive investigation into the findings. Police responded that these were the defence’s allegations and that the investigation was continuing.

The vessel’s mechanical faults, also discussed at the previous hearing, were raised again. The defence lawyer said that even if the generator had malfunctioned, the ship had a backup generator. The lawyer also argued that the exhaust system was water-cooled and that the water discharged from the exhaust was part of this system.

Police said the explanation concerning the exhaust system might be correct but noted that the vessel appeared to have been operating on a single generator. The defence lawyer countered that the ship could operate on one generator. Police said they had no information on that specific issue.

The defence lawyer also noted that the vessel’s cradle had still not been found.

Regarding damage to the vessel’s fibreglass structure, police said fibreglass experts had examined photographs and concluded that the damage needed to be repaired at a shipyard.

The investigation into the Filo Jet disaster is continuing, with further examination of the VDR recordings, technical assessments of the vessel’s damage and work by experts expected to arrive from Turkey.