Maritime Law

Ship Registry, Flag and Ownership Transactions

The conditions for registering a vessel in the Turkish ship registry, the Turkish International Ship Registry or the relevant port-of-registry book (bağlama kütüğü); the acquisition and transfer of ownership; registry records, deregistration, name and flag changes, encumbrances and powers of representation are reviewed. In a move from a foreign registry to the Turkish registry or from the Turkish registry to a foreign registry, the transactions of the two countries are aligned within the closing timetable.

The choice of registry should not be made on tax or transaction cost alone. The obligations of the flag state, seafarers, financing, mortgage, cabotage, technical compliance, insurance and the operating plan must be assessed together.

Vessel Purchase and Sale and Transaction Closing

In the sale of a vessel, the letter of intent, the confidentiality agreement, the memorandum of agreement, technical and legal review, the deposit, classification society records, registry and encumbrance searches, sanctions and party screening, and delivery, payment and document closing are coordinated. The delivery protocol, the bill of sale, the deregistration certificate, the company authority documents, the mortgage releases and the other closing documents are checked.

In the sale of a second-hand vessel, “as is, where is” and similar provisions are reviewed with respect to latent defects, representations and warranties, classification status, place of delivery, passing of risk, delay, withdrawal and dispute resolution.

Legal basis: 1, 2

Vessel Construction, Conversion, Refit, Maintenance and Repair Contracts

In vessel construction and major conversion projects, the technical specification, design responsibility, classification and flag approvals, the contract price, progress payments, the refund guarantee, change orders, delay damages, tests, sea trials, delivery, warranty and liability for defects are regulated.

In refit, maintenance and repair work, the scope, additional work after survey, shipyard time, existing damage on board, equipment supply, subcontractors, price adjustment, claims of a right of retention and delivery delay are addressed separately. Technical conformity and the finding of defects are separated from the work of the engineer, the classification society and the survey and transferred to the legal file.

Legal basis: 1, 9

Ship Mortgage, Financing and Leasing

In vessel acquisition, construction or refinancing transactions, the loan agreement, ship mortgage, assignment of earnings and insurance claims, account pledge, share pledge, guarantee, financial and operational covenants and default provisions are drafted or reviewed. The registry, ranking, currency and scope of the mortgage and the link to a foreign registry are verified before closing.

In leasing, sale and leaseback, bareboat charter and foreign financing structures, the consequences for ownership, possession, flag, tax, insurance and redelivery are assessed together. The financial and tax model is coordinated with the work of the relevant advisers.

Enforcement against a Vessel, Forced Sale and Ranking of Claims

Enforcement of a mortgage or a maritime claim, valuation of the vessel, its custody, the sailing prohibition, the sale notice, the auction and the distribution of proceeds may be carried out. International elements are reviewed with respect to a foreign registry, foreign creditors, maritime liens, public receivables and the cleansing effect of the sale.

Because the economic and physical conditions of the sale of a vessel differ from an ordinary sale of movable property, time planning is carried out with respect to port costs, the crew, insurance, maintenance and the vessel’s loss of value.

Legal basis: 1, 17

Voyage Charters and Freight Contracts

In voyage charters, the cargo, quantity tolerance, loading and discharge ports, the safe port or berth, laytime, the notice of readiness, demurrage, dispatch, deadfreight, freight, loading and discharge costs, the bill of lading arrangement and voyage obstacles are reviewed. Using a standard form does not eliminate the risk that additional clauses conflict with the form provisions.

In disputes, the conformity of the time and payment calculation with the contract is assessed on the basis of the statement of facts, the time sheet, port records, the notice of readiness (NOR), weather conditions and loading and discharge documents.

Time Charter Contracts

In a time charter, the payment of hire, off-hire, the description of the vessel, speed and fuel consumption, performance claims, routing instructions, the safe port, cargo restrictions, the delivery and redelivery quantity of bunker fuel, the redelivery window, the last voyage, sub-charter, indemnification and release from liability, and withdrawal rights are regulated.

A time charter is not a bareboat charter in which possession of the vessel and management of the crew pass to the charterer in every case. The status of the parties and operational control are determined according to the contract provisions.

Bareboat Charter and Ship Management

In a bareboat charter, the possession of the vessel, its outfitting, personnel management, maintenance, classification, insurance, flag and redelivery obligations are regulated in detail. In financed transactions, the rights among the owner, the charterer, the ship manager, the mortgagee and the insurer are aligned.

In ship management agreements, technical management, personnel, procurement, the maintenance budget, responsibilities under the International Safety Management Code (ISM) and the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS), accountability, third-party contracts, the limit of liability and the handover after termination are reviewed.

Legal basis: 1, 11

Bills of Lading, Sea Waybills and Delivery Documents

A bill of lading may evidence that the cargo was received or loaded on board, may serve as proof of the terms of the contract of carriage and, depending on its type, may have the character of a negotiable document of title representing the right to dispose of the goods. However, not every transport document has the same functions or the same consequences for transferability.

The bill of lading entry, the reservation, a clean or claused bill of lading, the incorporation of charter party provisions into the bill of lading, the Himalaya clauses and jurisdiction/arbitration clauses that protect the carrier’s auxiliaries, electronic delivery, the sea waybill, the electronic release instruction tied to surrender of the original bill of lading (telex release), the presentation of the original and delivery instructions are reviewed. Delivery without presentation of the original bill of lading, delivery to the wrong person or the use of a forged document may create a high liability risk and is therefore assessed separately.

The delivery and evidentiary functions of the bill of lading regulated in Article 1228 of the Turkish Commercial Code do not automatically carry over to a sea waybill or to an electronic delivery instruction alone. The type of the document and the identity of the rights holder are verified before delivery.

Claims for Loss of, Damage to, Short Delivery of and Delay in Cargo

In claims for wetting, breakage, crushing, contamination, temperature deviation, failure of a refrigerated container (reefer), short delivery, container damage, fire, delay and total loss, the carrier’s liability, seaworthiness and fitness for the voyage, the packing, stowage and lashing of the cargo, latent defect, exemptions and limits of liability are reviewed.

Once the damage becomes known, it is important to give the necessary notices to the carrier, the terminal, the insurer and other relevant parties; to preserve the opportunity for a joint survey; and to keep packing, container, seal, temperature and delivery records. The choice of delivery term rules in the sale (Incoterms) may show to whom the risk of damage has passed; however, it does not alone determine the right to claim against the carrier.

The notices of visible damage, latent damage and delay under Article 1185 of the Turkish Commercial Code are separate from the time limit for bringing an action under Article 1188. Giving notice alone does not take the place of applying to court or to arbitration within the time limit. The limit of liability and the loss of the right to benefit from that limit are also reviewed separately.

Multimodal and Container Carriage

In carriage involving sea, road, rail and air legs, the stage of carriage at which the loss or damage occurred, a network system or a uniform liability approach, actual carriers, the status of a freight forwarder, a through bill of lading covering the entire carriage and sub-carriage contracts are reviewed.

Container demurrage, container detention (equipment use charges for late return), storage, terminal and equipment charges are assessed on the basis of documents with respect to free time, tariff notification, delivery and return dates of the container, force majeure obstacles and claims that the charges are exorbitant.

Legal basis: 1, 6

Freight, Demurrage, Deadfreight and Commercial Claims

The contractual basis, the time at which the claim falls due, and the set-off and right of retention provisions of claims for freight, demurrage, container detention (equipment use charges for late return), deadfreight, bunker fuel, agency, port and other maritime claims are reviewed. An invoice alone does not prove the existence of the claim in every case; the charter party, the bill of lading, the service record, the delivery document and the correspondence of the parties are assessed together.

To protect the claim, the options of precautionary attachment of the vessel, security, enforcement proceedings, litigation or arbitration are planned taking into account the voyage schedule and the country where the assets are located. In order to secure a maritime claim, a sailing prohibition cannot be requested against the vessel by way of an interim injunction or by any other means instead of a precautionary attachment. The conditions of interim protection for other assets and claims are assessed separately.

Disputes over Ports, Terminals, Berths and Cargo Handling

Port use, berth allocation, terminal services, cargo handling, storage, loading and discharge, pilotage, towage, waste reception and related service contracts are reviewed. Disputes over cargo or vessel damage, waiting, storage, equipment, tariffs, service interruption and limits of liability are assessed against operational records.

In harbor master’s office (liman başkanlığı) procedures, port state control, detention of the vessel, sailing prohibitions, administrative fines and licensing processes, the administrative applications and judicial remedies are determined together with their specific time limits.

Ship Agency, Brokerage of Vessel Contracts, Bunker Fuel and Supply Contracts

The agent’s authority of representation, responsibility for collections and payments, port costs and the shipowner’s instructions; the commission of the broker who arranges vessel contracts and its role in the formation of the contract; and the provisions on quality, quantity, delivery, sampling, payment and sanctions in bunker fuel and other supplies are reviewed.

In disputes over fuel quality or quantity, delivery notes, records relating to taking, keeping and sending the sample to the laboratory, laboratory analysis, engine records and notices must be preserved. Whether the supplier can assert a right over the vessel is assessed separately on the basis of the party to the contract and the applicable law.

Legal basis: 1, 9, 17

Collision, Grounding, Fire and Maritime Accidents

In collisions, contact, groundings, fires, engine failures, flooding, cargo shifting and other maritime accidents, the first priority is the safety of life, the vessel and the environment. The legal work is built on the preservation of incident records, protests and notices, voyage data recorder (VDR) and automatic identification system (AIS) and navigation records, classification and flag procedures, survey, witness statements, and the security and jurisdiction strategy.

Fault, causation and the calculation of loss are addressed together with the technical maritime investigation. The International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG) and the related safety rules are assessed against the specific maneuver, visibility, speed, watch and navigation conditions.

Salvage, Wreck Removal and Towage Operations

In assistance and salvage incidents at sea, entitlement to a salvage award, useful result, special compensation, the salvage contract, environmental danger and the apportionment of the award are reviewed. Standard forms signed in an emergency and jurisdiction/arbitration provisions may determine the framework of a dispute that arises later.

In wreck removal, port safety, towage and salvage operations, public authority instructions, costs, insurance/P&I coverage, the liability of the owner and the operator, and third-party claims are coordinated.

General Average

General average may arise when a reasonable and extraordinary sacrifice or expenditure is made to protect the vessel and the cargo from a common maritime danger. The applicable rules, the reference in the charter party and the bill of lading, the general average adjustment, contribution shares, insurance, and general average guarantee and bond documents are reviewed.

A declaration of general average is not a matter independent of the carrier’s liability. The cargo interests’ objection to contribution and the claims they may later direct at the carrier may require separate legal assessment.

Legal basis: 1, 11, 12

Marine Insurance and Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Disputes

In hull and machinery, cargo, war, loss of hire, freight, liability and other marine insurance, the scope of the risk, the duty of disclosure, matters outside coverage, causation, the deductible, co-insurance, subrogation and the calculation of indemnity are reviewed. Collision liability, cargo, pollution, crew, wreck removal and third-party claims under P&I cover are assessed against the policy and the club rules.

Claim notification, survey, loss mitigation measures and the insurer’s instructions must be managed in time. The statute of limitations and arbitration conditions of claims among the insured, the insurer and a liable third party may differ from one another.

P&I is an abbreviation for “protection and indemnity”; it describes liability cover in maritime practice. That an incident falls within this cover does not show that a hull and machinery or cargo policy will also cover the same loss on the same terms.

Legal basis: 1, 6

Maritime Claims and Maritime Liens

That a claim is regarded as a maritime claim and that it gives rise to a maritime lien are not the same. Maritime liens may give certain claims statutory priority over the vessel; a maritime claim, on the other hand, may refer to a broader group of claims for the purposes of precautionary attachment.

In every file, the nature of the claim, against which vessel it can be directed, the effect of a change of owner or charterer, ranking and priority, and the consequences for the registry and forced sale are reviewed separately.

Precautionary Attachment of Vessels and Release against Security

In order to secure a maritime claim, a precautionary attachment may be requested against a vessel located in Turkish territorial waters or ports. In the application, the type of the maritime claim, the jurisdiction of the court, prima facie proof of the claim, counter-security, the identity and owner of the vessel, the possibility of a sister ship and foreign elements are reviewed.

Because of the nature of vessel voyages, the timing of the transaction may be critical. The enforcement of the attachment, port and enforcement-office procedures, the release of the vessel against security, the acceptance of a bank guarantee or a P&I club letter of undertaking, and the risk of wrongful attachment are assessed together. It should not be assumed that every foreign security text will produce the same result in the Turkish enforcement system.

Article 1363 of the Turkish Commercial Code regulates the claimant’s counter-security, as a rule, on the basis of 10,000 Special Drawing Rights; statutory exemptions and the conditions for increase or reduction are reviewed separately. This counter-security is different from the security the debtor offers in order to release the vessel. The Special Drawing Right is the unit of account of the International Monetary Fund; it is not a fixed Turkish lira court fee amount.

Legal basis: 1, 13, 17

Marine Environment, Oil Pollution and Environmental Liability

In marine pollution arising from oil, bunker fuel, chemicals or other harmful substances, emergency response, notification, cleanup costs, administrative sanctions, civil and criminal liability, insurance and compensation claims are addressed together. Law No. 5312, the Environment Law, MARPOL and the liability/compensation conventions that may apply are reviewed according to the type of the specific incident.

Samples, satellite and drone imagery, vessel records, waste delivery documents, incident site coordinates and cleanup invoices should be preserved with regard to their value as evidence. Payment of an administrative fine does not eliminate private-law compensation claims in every case.

The scope of Law No. 5312 does not apply automatically to every maritime incident; it is checked with respect to the vessel’s tonnage, the substance carried, coastal facility activity and the area of application. The time limits and conditions of an administrative application, an annulment action, private-law compensation and a criminal investigation are separate from one another.

Decarbonization and Emission Regulations in Shipping

The energy efficiency and greenhouse gas regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) may affect the vessel’s technical and operational obligations and the provisions on route, speed, performance and data sharing in the charter party. In voyages connected with European ports, where the scope conditions are met, the obligations under the European Union Emissions Trading System and FuelEU Maritime may also give rise to contractual cost and compliance issues for Turkish-flagged or Türkiye-based operators.

How the cost of emissions will be shared among the owner, the time charterer, the voyage charterer or the contracting shipper; data verification, the surrender of allowances, the pooling of compliance balances, fuel choice, delay and the consequences of non-compliance must be expressly regulated in the contract. Because the regulations change rapidly, the current scope and timetable are checked separately for each voyage and vessel.

In the European Union Emissions Trading System, the emissions year and the allowance surrender year are different: the surrender of allowances is envisaged in 2026 for 70% of the in-scope emissions reported for 2025, and from 2027 for 100% of the previous year’s in-scope emissions. In the 2026 emissions period, methane and nitrous oxide also fall within the scope. FuelEU Maritime, on the other hand, is a separate regulation on the greenhouse gas intensity of the energy used on board, applicable since January 1, 2025. The vessel, port, voyage and exceptions are checked separately for both systems.

Maritime Safety, Security and Regulatory Compliance

The effect of obligations under SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW, the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREG), ISM and ISPS on contracts, company procedures and incident management is assessed. Findings of the flag state, the port state and the classification society are addressed with respect to detention of the vessel, conditions of class, deficiencies, voyage safety and insurance.

Cyber incidents, electronic navigation and cargo systems, automatic identification system (AIS) and voyage data recorder (VDR) data, remote access, ransomware and business continuity risks are reviewed from the standpoint of data protection, notification, evidence and contractual liability.

SOLAS concerns the safety of life at sea; MARPOL the prevention of pollution from vessels; STCW the training, certification and watchkeeping standards of seafarers; ISM safety management; and ISPS the security of vessels and port facilities. A technical compliance certificate and an assessment of legal liability are not the same review.

Sanctions, Export Controls and Maritime Trade Compliance

The examination of the vessel, owner, operator, cargo, bank, insurer, route and port parties against sanctions and restriction lists; the contractual sanctions clause, payment blocks, deviation, termination and documentation obligations are addressed. Indicators such as a change of flag, an AIS gap, ship-to-ship transfers, cargo origin and the ownership chain are assessed on a risk basis.

Sanctions regimes vary by country and by transaction. The effect of a state’s sanctions in Turkish law must be reviewed separately on the basis of the law applicable to the contract, the payment system and the connection with the countries concerned.

Legal basis: 4, 5, 11, 14, 15, 16

Maritime Labor Law and Seafarers

Seafarer contracts, wages, overtime, leave, voyage- or term-based work, termination, seniority, repatriation, work accidents, illness, death and social security disputes are reviewed. The scope of Maritime Labor Law No. 854 is determined according to the vessel, flag, tonnage, number of employees and other conditions; for relationships falling outside the scope, the applicable law is assessed separately.

In cases of foreign-flagged vessels, foreign employers, multinational crews and incidents abroad, the choice of law, the habitual place of work, the flag, jurisdiction and international conventions are reviewed together. Flag and port state rules may also matter with regard to seafarer documents and working conditions.

Passenger, Ferry and Cruise Carriage

The passenger ticket and carriage terms, delay and cancellation, loss of baggage, injury or death, port and tour services, the character of a consumer transaction, the limit of liability and insurance are reviewed. In international voyages, the conventions and jurisdiction provisions that may apply are determined according to the route and the status of the parties.

In contracts among cruise operators and ports, tour operators, ground service providers, suppliers and passengers, responsibility and data sharing must be expressly regulated.

Fishing, Offshore and Special-Purpose Vessel Transactions

In commercial fishing vessels, research and support vessels, tugboats, platform support services, cable or pipe laying, offshore construction and other special operations, vessel contracts and sector permits are reviewed together. In towage, heavy-lift and transport, project cargo and offshore construction contracts, weather risk, safety, delay and the liability regime are specifically regulated.

Purchase and sale, registration, charter, marina and refit transactions relating to private or commercial yachts are assessed separately under Yacht and Boat Law. Matters connected with commercial shipping and the carriage of cargo and passengers may be addressed together.

Legal basis: 1, 3, 6

Mediation, Litigation and Maritime Arbitration

Depending on the nature of the dispute, mediation as a condition precedent to litigation in commercial disputes, precautionary attachment, enforcement, court proceedings, and institutional or ad hoc arbitration (set up for a specific dispute) may come into play. The rules of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Istanbul Arbitration Centre (ISTAC) or others apply only where a valid reference in the contract and the jurisdictional conditions exist.

The choice of arbitrator, the seat of arbitration, the language, the applicable law, an expedited procedure, document production, a technical expert, security and the enforcement of the award are considered at the outset. Whether the arbitration clause has passed into the bill of lading or the sub-contract is also reviewed separately.

The mediation condition precedent to litigation under Article 5/A of the Turkish Commercial Code is assessed only for the commercial claims within its scope. The arbitration exception under Article 18/A of Law No. 6325 and the effect of mediation on time limits are reviewed separately. A foreign court or arbitration clause alone does not prevent an application for the arrest of a vessel in Türkiye under the conditions of Article 1356.

Recognition, Enforcement (tenfiz) and Execution of Foreign Judgments and Arbitral Awards

The recognition, enforcement and execution in Türkiye of foreign court judgments or arbitral awards are carried out within the framework of the nature of the decision, its finality, notification, public policy, the arbitration agreement and the applicable international conventions. The need for interim legal protection against a vessel or other assets in Türkiye may be addressed separately from the main dispute.

The conditions for the recognition and enforcement of court judgments and of arbitral awards are not the same. Applicable international conventions are reserved; the relevant conditions in Law No. 5718 are reviewed according to the type of decision. An apostille or a translation alone does not make a decision enforceable.

Legal basis: 1, 6, 7, 8