Nine of them appeared in court in Kyrenia, known as Girne in Turkish, charged with negligent homicide, the official TAK news agency said.
Addressing the court, the captain and crew said the front of the vessel had been smashed open by the force of the waves, Turkey’s Anadolu state news agency said.
The captain was remanded in custody.
TRNC President Tufan Erhurman told reporters that divers were trying to retrieve data from the vessel’s so-called “black box” to understand what caused the deadly incident.
He said: “Divers were deployed today … and this effort will continue tomorrow as well … to get to the bottom of every aspect”.
He stressed that the ferry company “will certainly be held accountable”, adding: “Definitive information will likely be provided on Tuesday in the form of confirmed data.”
Khassim Diagne, the UN Secretary-General’s representative in Cyprus, said he was “deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life” and extended his sincere condolences to the families affected.
Several survivors from the vessel said they heard what sounded like an explosion shortly before it capsized.
Passengers said the boat had begun taking on water, with the captain trying to return to port before the vessel capsized.
Footage from the scene broadcast by Turkish television showed the overturned ferry with passengers wearing life jackets sitting atop its hull.
Shortly afterwards, the ferry sank and is now lying at a depth of 514m.
Some survivors said there was not enough safety equipment for all the passengers.
Efe Multici told CNN Turk: “Some people had to jump without lifebuoys or life jackets. It was literally a fight for survival.”
One of the victims was a policeman who had returned to the catamaran to try to find life jackets for his wife and child, who survived, according to Turkish newspaper Sabah.
The vessel – a French-made Filo Jet catamaran – was built around the 2000s by Iris Catamarans, a subsidiary of now-defunct French group Fountaine Pajot.
– AFP