Search teams are continuing efforts to find 20 people still missing, three days after a passenger ship capsized and sank off Kyrenia, as relatives wait in anguish for news of their loved ones. Two vessels sent by Ankara to the occupied north, the TCG Işın and TCG Alemdar, are now central to the recovery operation.
Using advanced sonar and a robotic underwater vehicle, the TCG Işın located an object yesterday at a depth of around 550 metres, believed to be the sunken vessel. From today, the TCG Alemdar will join operations; equipped with underwater salvage technology, it is expected to attempt to recover any bodies feared trapped inside the ship.
The process underway
The Turkish rescue and towing vessel TCG Işın, built in Turkey and fitted with advanced technology, arrived early yesterday morning at the site where the ship sank and began operations. Its commander, Lieutenant Commander Ulaş Cesur, said the goal was to use search systems to pinpoint and confirm the wreck’s exact position on the seabed, in the area where the Filo Jet is believed to have gone down. He said that once the wreck’s identity is confirmed, the TCG Alemdar will begin recovery operations, while a remotely operated underwater vehicle carries out detailed searches and inspections.
TCG Işın’s specifications
According to CNN Turk, the TCG Işın is a rescue vessel built entirely in Istanbul using domestic resources, which entered service in 2017. It measures 68 metres in length and 14 metres in width, and is designed to carry out rescue, towing, diving and underwater operations, as well as provide medical support. It is equipped with an Atmospheric Diving System (ADS), used by specialist first-class divers, which allows operations to a depth of 365 metres. Its remotely operated robotic system can reach depths of up to 3,000 metres. The ship also has a fixed two-compartment hyperbaric chamber with capacity for nine people, used to treat divers with diving-related conditions using oxygen and gas mixtures under high pressure.
The vessel is crewed by specialist diving personnel capable of carrying out search and rescue operations. According to the captain, it can conduct rescue operations using systems capable of reaching 1,000 metres and manned dives to 90 metres. Once the wreck is identified, rescue operations will begin at a depth of around 500 metres, while the remotely operated vehicle carries out detailed searches and inspections around and above the wreck.
Families’ hopes pinned on TCG Alemdar
The TCG Alemdar is expected to arrive off Kyrenia today. Its involvement in the operation will provide access to the wreck and strengthen the technical capacity for rescue and recovery efforts.
Turkish experts to examine ship’s history
Six experts from Turkey are expected to examine complaints and claims surrounding the condition of the passenger ship, which sank off Kyrenia shortly after setting off on its route to Taşucu, including allegations that it was poorly maintained, had missing documentation and had what critics called a “burdened history.”
Erhan Arıklı, the north’s so-called “transport minister,” whose “ministry” has faced criticism as the authority responsible for licensing the vessel, announced that six fully authorised experts from Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure will arrive on the island today.
The team of authorised experts, travelling to Nicosia at the request of the Turkish Cypriot side, will examine all documents and evidence relating to the catamaran and prepare a report.
The so-called “Ministry of Transport” said the company that operated the ship, now at the centre of the dispute, had submitted a certificate of suitability and inspection three months earlier, in June 2026, issued by Türk Loydu, the Turkish inspection and certification body.
It also said the captain, who has likewise faced criticism, held a captain’s licence issued in Honduras, which permitted him to command vessels of up to 3,000 tonnes.
The 26-year-old ship is reported to have been involved in an accident in the past and undergone repairs, and a report reportedly found it should not be used in open seas.
