19.11.2025 15:14
In the expert report included in the indictment prepared by the Bandırma Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the death of businessman Halit Yukay (43), whose boat set sail from Yalova to Bozcaada and was found broken and partially submerged, it was stated that the boat named 'Graywolf' collided head-on and directly with the bulk carrier named 'Arel-7' at full sailing speed.
In relation to the death of businessman Halit Yukay (43), whose boat, which set sail from Yalova to Bozcaada, was found broken and partially submerged, the expert report in the indictment prepared by the Bandırma Chief Public Prosecutor's Office stated that the boat named 'Graywolf' collided head-on and directly with the cargo ship named 'Arel-7' at full sailing speed. The report found Yukay to be 'primarily at fault', while the ship's captain Cemal Tokatlıoğlu (61) was deemed 'secondarily at fault', noting that such an accident had never been encountered in maritime literature in open waters.
On August 4, at 15:10, businessman Halit Yukay set sail for Bozcaada with his boat named 'Graywolf', which was later found broken and partially submerged. On the 19th day of the search efforts, his lifeless body was discovered 7 miles off the coast of Erdek, at a depth of 68 meters. The 'TCG Işın', one of the two rescue and support ships of the Turkish Navy that arrived in the area on August 26 to recover Yukay's body, was unable to anchor for three days due to adverse weather conditions. After the wind subsided and the ship was stabilized, operations began on August 29. The first identification of the body, which was first visualized by the sea police on August 23 and then by the Naval Forces Command with an unmanned underwater vehicle (ROV) on August 28-29, was made from the watch on its left wrist at a depth of 68 meters. The body, which was seen to have a 'blue-banded watch' on its left wrist in the underwater footage, was compared with the images of Yukay leaving Yalova Port with his boat to go to Bozcaada. The examination of the security camera footage also confirmed that the same watch was on Yukay's left wrist.
'TCG ALEMDAR RECOVERED THE BODY' Halit Yukay's body was recovered on September 3, 30 days after he went missing, by specially trained divers from the TCG Alemdar rescue ship. The body, brought up from a depth of 68 meters using an elevator system, was buried on September 6 at the Ümraniye Hekimbaşı Cemetery after a prayer held at the Marmara University Faculty of Theology Mosque in Istanbul following the autopsy at the Bursa Forensic Medicine Institute.
As part of the investigation conducted by the Bandırma Chief Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the death of the businessman, the radar movements of the cargo ship named 'Arel 7', which is alleged to have collided with Yukay's broken yacht, were examined. In the Coast Guard's investigation, it was determined that there were scrape marks on the front of the cargo ship. The Yalova Chief Public Prosecutor's Office scrutinized the ship traffic in the area and the route of 'Arel 7'. Two photographs showing the scrape marks on the ship were also included in the investigation file. In a photo taken in Çanakkale one day before the accident, no marks were visible on the front of the ship, while a photo taken in Izmit on August 5, where the ship was delivering its cargo, highlighted a distinct mark and impact on the front of 'Arel 7'.
FOOTAGE ENTERED THE FILE Footage of the moments when the cargo ship named 'Arel 7', which is considered to have collided with Halit Yukay's boat, arrived at Izmit Port has also emerged. In the security camera footage, at around 04:00 on August 5, the captain Cemal Tokatlıoğlu and the crew were seen disembarking from the ship at 04:17, approaching the front of the ship to look at it, and then stopping at the port side to look back at the ship. These images, along with photographs showing distinct scrape marks on the ship, were also included in the investigation file.
COMPARISON REFLECTED IN CRIMINAL REPORT While investigating how the scratches on the front of the 92-meter long, 11-meter wide ship occurred, samples taken from the area where the cargo ship's scrape marks were found and from the parts of Yukay's broken boat where marks were present were sent to the Bursa Criminal Police Laboratory Directorate. As a result of the examination, it was stated that the paint residues in the scrape marks on the front of 'Arel 7' matched those from Yukay's broken boat. According to the criminal report, it was determined that the color and layers of the micro-level samples taken from the damaged part of the ship, evaluated as the 'collision area', were similar in physical structure to the samples taken from Yukay's boat. No results were obtained from the initial examination of the 'console', which is referred to as the 'black box' of Yukay's broken boat and contains details such as the ship's route, date, and time. The device was sent abroad for detailed examination.
SHIP CAPTAIN RELEASED The captain of the cargo ship named 'Arel 7', which is alleged to have collided with Yukay's broken boat, Cemal Tokatlıoğlu, was detained in Yalova on charges of 'causing death by negligence' and was released under judicial control with a travel ban. After the Yalova Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's objection, Tokatlıoğlu was re-arrested in Istanbul on August 10 and was imprisoned. It was learned that Cemal Tokatlıoğlu was released by the Erdek 3rd Criminal Court of First Instance on October 23.
UP TO 9 YEARS IN PRISON SOUGHT In the indictment prepared by the Bandırma Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, it was requested that the ship's captain Tokatlıoğlu be sentenced to 3 to 9 years in prison for the charge of 'causing death by negligence', while company official Arda G. (45) and crew members Ahmet S. (58), Erhan E. (52), İsa A. (52), Metin S. (50), Muhammet F. G. (27), Oğuzhan D. (27), Ramazan D. (56), and Tahir B. (60) were each sought to be sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison for the charge of 'causing death due to failure to fulfill the obligation to assist and notify.'
PHYSICAL CONTACT CONFIRMED BY TECHNICAL FINDINGS In the 14-page indictment containing the statements of 10 defendants, the expert report stated that 'the occurrence of physical contact was confirmed by technical findings such as paint residues in the scrape marks on the ship's hull, paint analysis results, and the structural integrity of the wreck, and that the damage leading to the sinking of the boat named 'Graywolf' was caused by the collision with the ship 'Arel-7'.
'GRAYWOLF' COLLIDED WITH 'AREL-7' AT FULL SAILING SPEED, HEAD-ON AND DIRECTLY It was noted that neither Halit Yukay nor the ship's captain Cemal Tokatlıoğlu realized the possibility of a collision until the moment of the accident, and that the incident occurred unexpectedly. It was emphasized that the boat collided rapidly and directly with the ship and that such an accident had rarely been encountered in maritime literature in open waters, stating, "According to previous maritime records examined by us, similar types of incidents are generally encountered in narrow waterways where maneuvering is restricted; however, in open waters during daylight hours with good visibility and in an area without any maneuvering restrictions, a high-speed boat colliding head-on and directly with a commercial vessel on its route is almost unheard of in maritime literature."
It has been understood that the accident occurred due to the failure of the commercial ship to perform the necessary lookout duties while Halit Yukay was traveling at high speed, and this situation has been evaluated as the main technical cause of the accident.
'HE WAS ON A PHONE CALL IN THE LOWER CABIN AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT' In the expert report, it was noted that Yukay was on a phone call with his actor friend Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ; it was determined that the high speed of the vessel, the absence of a radar reflector, the low visibility due to its gray-colored hull, and Halit Yukay being on a phone call in the lower cabin at the time of the incident were among the effective factors of the accident.
TATLIĞU'S STATEMENT WAS ALSO INCLUDED IN THE INDICTMENT The indictment included the statement given by Yukay's actor friend Tatlıtuğ, who was the last person to speak with him on the phone, on August 11 in Istanbul. When the navigation and route information of the 'Arel-7' ship was examined, it was observed that the ship deviated from its course and made a circular movement around 17:09 in the area considered to be where the accident occurred, and continued on its route afterward. This finding was stated to fully coincide with the last hour and minute information received from Halit Yukay, and it was noted that "In the examination of the HTS and base station information of the deceased Halit Yukay, it was determined that he received a signal from the base station located in Erdek Çayağzı Bay Küçükbucak Region at 17:09. In the statement of Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ, who was heard as a witness in the investigation, it was mentioned that he was in conversation with Yukay at the exact time specified, and during the 37-second phone call, he stated that 'everything was fine,' but suddenly he heard a sound like a downpour and the call ended."
BUSINESSMAN 'PRIMARILY AT FAULT', SHIP CAPTAIN 'SECONDARILY AT FAULT' When all data related to the accident were evaluated together, it was stated in the expert report that the ship's captain Halit Yukay was found to be 'primarily at fault' in the occurrence of the accident, while the ship's captain Cemal Tokatlıoğlu, who did not report despite seeing parts of the vessel on the sea, was stated to be 'secondarily at fault.' The report included the following statements:
"The captain of the Arel-7 ship is primarily responsible for the navigation and management of the ship, and at the time of the accident, he was alone on the bridge holding the watch. It is very unlikely that the captain would have noticed a small boat approaching at high speed that was not visible on radar or would have assessed the possibility of a direct collision. The captain's level of foresight and awareness regarding such an accident would be low, and even if he noticed this possibility, due to the size and inertia of the ship, there would be no chance of avoiding the rapidly approaching boat by changing course. However, according to international and national maritime regulations, the captain on watch on the bridge must continuously and vigilantly perform lookout duties. If continuous lookout is maintained, a vessel approaching at a certain distance can be detected, and in the event of a potential collision, the ship's horn can alert the boat captain, giving them a chance to maneuver to prevent the accident. In this sense, it has been understood that the ship's captain is secondarily at fault in preventing the accident."
'HE PASSED AWAY IN A CLOSED CABIN' Additionally, it was emphasized that the likelihood of Yukay's survival after the accident was very low, stating, "Considering the speed and impact intensity of the collision, the probability of the victim losing consciousness in the closed cabin and dying due to seawater flooding into the vessel is very high, and if the ship's crew or rescue teams that would have been dispatched to the scene had been notified, the chance of saving the victim would have been very low."
The indictment was accepted by the Erdek 2nd Criminal Court of First Instance 100 days after the accident, and the trial of 10 defendants, who are not in custody, will begin in December.