New information about the past of the Filo Jet, the catamaran that sank off Kyrenia, is coming to light as investigations continue into the causes of the tragedy and the location of the missing.
Behind the current name of the ship is the IRIS JET, a catamaran with a history of 26 years, which had travelled to Kyrenia as early as 2003.
The ship's identity has remained the same over the years, with an IMO number 8962034, despite changes in name, ownership, and flag.
The element that causes particular interest is that the same ship had also experienced an incident of water ingress in 2003, after hitting a dock. So far, however, there is no evidence linking that incident to the causes of yesterday's shipwreck.
From France to the Balearic Islands
The ship was built in 2000 at the Iris Catamarans shipyard, in La Rochelle, France, while its official delivery is recorded on June 1, 2001.
It is a high-speed passenger catamaran with a length of approximately 42.8 meters, 339 GT, with an initial capacity of approximately 346 passengers.
It was called IRIS JET from the beginning and its first owner was the French manufacturer Iris Catamarans. In the same year he moved to the Spanish Cape Balear S.L., registered as Palamos, and operated in the Balearic Islands.
In 2003 on the line to Kyrenia
Two years later, in 2003, IRIS JET was chartered by the Turkish Meltem Denizcilik for passenger routes between Turkey and the occupied territories.
In practice, it operated a limited number of routes on the Tassucu-Kyrenia line. The presence of the ship in this area at that time is also confirmed by a French court decision, which refers to "its activity on a passenger connection between Turkey and northern Cyprus".
The impact and water ingress
Of particular interest is an incident recorded in the same year. According to a decision of the French Court of Cassation of 10 March 2009, the IRIS JET crashed into a dock in Tassuju during a manoeuvre on 26 October 2003.
After the impact, the ship continued to operate. A few days later, however, it experienced a serious influx of water.
In the same court decision, it is recorded that work that should have been done in a suitable port had been indicated, without these having been carried out before the condition of the ship deteriorated.
The incident then led to many years of insurance and legal dispute.
It should be noted that the fact that the same catamaran had experienced an influx of water 23 years ago has now returned to the public debate in the occupied territories, while so far there has been no indication linking the 2003 incident with yesterday's tragedy.
Years out of active service
The continuation of the ship's course was also adventurous.
IRIS JET was seized in the port of Tassuju due to debts to employees and other creditors and remained out of active service for a long time.
In the period that followed, it was repeatedly put up for auction, including in 2007 for 2.425 million. and again in 2014.
The exact duration of its continuous immobility is not reflected in the same way in all available files, which is why it is safest to speak of a multi-year period of decommissioning and not of an uninterrupted immobility of a certain number of years.
In 2017 it passed into Greek ownership
In 2017 the ship passed to the Greek Irisjet Maritime Company and was transported to Perama for repairs.
It remained under the name IRIS JET and the Greek flag.
Available registry data shows Irisjet Maritime as the owner from 29 May 2017 until 2 March 2024.
In 2020, a short transfer is recorded in the Panamanian registry under Kasteknik Denizcilik, before the ship returns to Irisjet Maritime and the Greek flag in the same year.
From IRIS JET to FILO JET
In 2024 the catamaran changed ownership again. It passed to the Turkish Filo Denizcilik Ltd., was renamed FILO JET and rejoined the Tassucu-Kyrenia line.
Filo Denizcilik appears today as both the registered owner and the manager of the vessel.
The immediately previous owner was, therefore, the Greek Irisjet Maritime Company, while the previous name of the ship was IRIS JET.
The most interesting element is that the same catamaran had traveled to Kyrenia as early as 2003 and returned, two decades later, on essentially the same line.
The questions of Turkish Cypriot journalists
The history of the ship has caused intense debate in the occupied territories.
Turkish Cypriot journalist Aysu Basri Akter, citing publicly available data, wrote that Filo Jet is 26 years old and spoke of a complex history with successive flag and ownership changes.
She also referred to the ship's classification records, noting that there are points that need further investigation.
At the same time, other Turkish Cypriot journalists raise questions about the condition of the ship, the inspections that had preceded and the conditions under which permission to sail was given on the day of the tragedy.
The director of the Bugün Kıbrıs website, Aysemden Akin, wrote that initially permission to sail was not given due to weather conditions, but the decision was later reversed.
She requested that the permit to operate the route, the inspection reports and the ship's departure document be made public.
These reports remain allegations that are expected to be investigated.
The history of the ship has caused intense debate in the occupied territories.
Turkish Cypriot journalist Aysu Basri Akter, citing publicly available data, wrote that Filo Jet is 26 years old and spoke of a complex history with successive flag and ownership changes.
She also referred to the ship's classification records, noting that there are points that need further investigation.
At the same time, other Turkish Cypriot journalists raise questions about the condition of the ship, the inspections that had preceded and the conditions under which permission to sail was given on the day of the tragedy.
The director of the Bugün Kıbrıs website, Aysemden Akin, wrote that initially permission to sail was not given due to weather conditions, but the decision was later reversed.
She requested that the permit to operate the route, the inspection reports and the ship's departure document be made public.
These reports remain allegations that are expected to be investigated.
Arikli: The ship had been checked
For his part, the so-called "Minister of Public Works and Transport" in the occupied territories, Erhan Arikli, rejected reports that the Filo Jet had sailed unchecked.
Speaking to KIBRIS TV, he claimed that the ship had passed about two and a half months ago from the inspection of Türk Loydu and had received the relevant certificates and class certificate.
He also rejected the claim that the captain did not have a license, saying he had about 25 years of experience and many years of presence in the area.
In relation to the reports of a possible explosion on the ship, he said that the answers will be given after the completion of the technical investigations.
Survivors' complaints
At the same time, the complaints of passengers who survived the shipwreck are serious.
Ibrahim Kanbollat claimed that passengers had informed crew members when they realized that water was entering the ship.
According to his testimony, when the situation worsened and the catamaran began to tilt, there was no organized distribution of life jackets.
A similar picture was conveyed to CNN Türk by survivor Effect Multiji, who reported that some passengers were forced to jump into the sea without life jackets.
According to his own description, the ship began to take on water about 20 to 25 minutes after its departure from Kyrenia.
These testimonies are survivors' complaints and are expected to be evaluated as part of the formal investigation.
Answers are sought at sea
A total of 267 people were on board the Filo Jet, including 259 passengers and eight crew members, according to the Turkish Interior Ministry.
The toll so far is eight dead, while the search continues to locate 18 missing.
At the same time, the investigation of possible responsibilities has begun, with the captain and other persons being "detained".
The wreck is at a great depth and the recovery of the ship's recording systems is considered crucial, which may provide answers about what happened in the last minutes before the sinking.
