Salvage and Liability in Turkish Maritime Law
Salvage in Turkey is governed by the Turkish Commercial Code (TTK No. 6102, Articles 1298-1319), which adopts the 1989 International Convention on Salvage and runs on the no cure, no pay rule: a salvor is paid only if the operation produces a useful result, and the reward can never exceed the salved value of the ship and property. This guide explains how rewards, environmental special compensation, ship arrest and shipowner liability work in Turkish waters, for foreign owners, insurers and salvors who need to act fast after a casualty.
What salvage means under Turkish law
Salvage is the law that rewards a person who voluntarily saves a ship, its cargo or other property that is in danger at sea. The logic is practical. The sea is hostile, professional rescue is expensive and risky, and the law encourages people to come to the aid of a vessel in peril by promising a fair reward when they succeed.
In Turkey the subject sits in the Turkish Commercial Code (TTK, Law No. 6102), in the Fifth Book of the maritime part, Articles 1298 to 1319. These provisions adopt the International Convention on Salvage 1989, so the Turkish rules closely track the convention that most international shipowners, charterers and underwriters already know. For wider background, see our overview of Turkish maritime law.
Turkish law is in one respect broader than the bare convention. The TTK extends its salvage regime to many vessels the convention lets states carve out, including certain public-service and recreational craft, and it does not exclude warships in the way the convention permits. For a foreign owner or insurer, that means salvage rights and duties in Turkish waters can bite in situations you might not expect from the convention alone.
Three elements must normally be present for a salvage claim to arise:
- A maritime danger — the vessel or property must face a real, present risk of loss or damage. The danger need not be immediate or certain, but it must be more than a remote possibility.
- A voluntary service — the salvor must act of their own accord. A crew member doing their normal job, or a tug performing ordinary contracted towage, is not salving unless the risk goes beyond what the contract covers.
- A useful result — the operation must, at least in part, succeed in preserving the ship or property. This is the heart of the no cure, no pay principle.
The no cure, no pay principle
The cornerstone of salvage law is that a salvor is paid only if the operation produces a useful result. If the salvor tries hard, spends a fortune and the ship sinks anyway, there is generally no reward. This is the no cure, no pay principle, first set out in the 1910 Brussels Salvage Convention and carried into the 1989 Convention and the Turkish Commercial Code.
The logic is commercial. Professional salvors take the risk of failure in exchange for the prospect of a generous reward when they succeed. The owner of a vessel that is lost despite the attempt does not pay for the failed effort, and the salvor who saves valuable property is rewarded well. The only major statutory exception is the environmental special compensation described below, which can be payable even when the ship and cargo are not saved.
Because the rule is strict, how the operation is documented and conducted matters a great deal. Foreign owners and insurers facing a salvage claim in Turkish waters should establish early whether a true useful result was achieved and what contractual framework, if any, governed the service.
How a salvage reward is calculated
When salvage succeeds, the salvor earns a salvage reward. Turkish law, following the 1989 Convention, fixes no tariff. Instead the reward is assessed against a list of criteria designed to encourage effective salvage, subject to the firm limit that it cannot exceed the salved value of the vessel and other property.
The criteria a court or tribunal weighs are:
- the salved value of the vessel and other property;
- the skill and efforts of the salvors in preventing or minimising damage to the environment;
- the measure of success obtained by the salvor;
- the nature and degree of the danger;
- the skill and efforts of the salvors in saving the vessel, other property and life;
- the time used, expenses incurred and losses suffered by the salvors;
- the risk of liability and other risks run by the salvors and their equipment;
- the promptness of the services rendered;
- the availability and use of vessels or other equipment intended for salvage; and
- the state of readiness, efficiency and value of the salvor's equipment.
Where several salvors take part, they share the reward by the same criteria. The reward is paid by the owners of the ship and property in proportion to their respective salved values, which is why both the hull underwriter and the cargo interests are usually involved.
A simple worked example
Suppose a casualty is brought safely to port and the salved property is valued at USD 8 million for the hull and USD 2 million for the cargo, a total salved value of USD 10 million. If a court or arbitrator sets the reward at USD 1.5 million, the hull interest bears 80 per cent (USD 1.2 million) and the cargo interest 20 per cent (USD 300,000), tracking their share of the salved value. The figures are illustrative only; every award turns on the Art. 1305 criteria and the salved values actually proved.
Environmental salvage and special compensation
The 1989 Convention, and Turkish law with it, recognised that no cure, no pay could discourage salvors from tackling a casualty that threatened pollution but offered little salvable value. The answer was special compensation for operations that protect the environment.
So the statutory ceiling on special compensation is the salvor's expenses plus a maximum uplift of 100 per cent of those expenses. "Expenses" here covers the salvor's out-of-pocket costs plus a fair rate for equipment and personnel reasonably used.
How the numbers can work
If a salvor proves expenses of USD 1 million and prevents serious pollution, the baseline special compensation is USD 1 million. A 30 per cent uplift takes it to USD 1.3 million; on equity grounds a tribunal could go as high as USD 2 million (expenses plus 100 per cent), but no further. These figures are illustrative; the assessment of expenses and the uplift is technical and frequently disputed.
Special compensation and SCOPIC
In the market, owners and salvors often replace the Art. 1312 / convention special-compensation mechanism with the SCOPIC clause (Special Compensation P&I Clubs Clause), bolted onto a Lloyd's Open Form. SCOPIC pre-agrees daily tariff rates for personnel and equipment, which makes the salvor's safety net easier to quantify and removes much of the argument over what "expenses" really were. Owners (through their P&I clubs) value the certainty and the right to control and even terminate SCOPIC; salvors value being paid by reference to a clear rate card rather than litigating Art. 1312. Where SCOPIC is incorporated, it supplements the LOF reward and effectively stands in for the statutory special compensation.
Reward versus special compensation at a glance
The two ways a salvor can be paid pull in different directions. The table sets out the core differences a foreign owner or insurer needs to keep straight.
| Feature | Salvage reward (TTK Art. 1304-1305) | Special compensation (TTK Art. 1312) |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | Useful result achieved (property saved) | Vessel or cargo threatened environmental damage |
| Payable if nothing is saved? | No (no cure, no pay) | Yes, expenses still recoverable |
| Who pays | Owners of ship and property, by salved value | The shipowner |
| Upper limit | Cannot exceed the salved value | Expenses plus up to 100% uplift |
| Main purpose | Reward successful rescue | Encourage protection of the sea and coast |
Salvage contracts and Lloyd's Open Form
Most professional salvage is performed under a contract rather than left to the open-ended statutory regime. The most widely used instrument internationally is the Lloyd's Open Form (LOF), a standard no cure, no pay agreement under which the reward is fixed later by arbitration in London or Turkey rather than at the scene.
Before a vessel signs anything in a Turkish casualty, the contract terms, governing law and forum all deserve a careful look. Our commercial contracts team can review your salvage or towage contract against the TTK and the relevant standard forms. Where the parties have not clearly chosen a governing law, questions of applicable law and jurisdiction are resolved under Turkish private international law rules (MÖHUK, Law No. 5718), and any resulting dispute may need Turkish counsel alongside your usual advisers.
Ship arrest, maritime liens and time limits
Salvage does not only create a right to payment. It interacts with the wider liability framework of maritime law, and the security it gives a salvor is what makes a reward collectable in practice.
That security is the practical key to recovery. Because the claim attaches to the ship, a salvor can apply to a Turkish commercial court for a protective attachment (ihtiyati haciz) and arrest the ship to enforce the maritime lien while she is at a Turkish port. The court will usually require the applicant to post counter-security, and an arrest order can often be obtained quickly where the paperwork is in order, which is why salvors and their lawyers move fast before the vessel sails.
Several liability points matter for foreign parties:
- Duty of care during salvage. The salvor must carry out the operation with due care, seek help from other salvors where reasonable, and accept reasonable intervention when the property owner reasonably requests it. Negligent conduct that worsens the casualty can reduce or forfeit the reward.
- Misconduct. A salvor guilty of fraud or other dishonesty connected with the salvage can lose all or part of the reward.
- Saving of life. Under TTK Art. 1318, a person who saves human life owes nothing to those saved, but a life salvor is entitled to a fair share of any reward or special compensation paid for saving the vessel, cargo and property in the same operation.
- Limitation of liability. Shipowners and salvors may be able to cap their overall exposure for maritime claims under the tonnage-limitation regime of the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims and its 1996 Protocol (the LLMC), as applied through the TTK. Salvors themselves can invoke this limit.
Wreck removal, general average and the coastal authorities
Salvage rarely arrives alone. The same casualty often raises wreck removal, general average and the powers of the Turkish maritime authorities, and a foreign owner needs to see how they fit together.
Salvage versus wreck removal
Salvage saves property still in danger; wreck removal deals with a vessel that is already sunk, stranded or abandoned and must be cleared. The two can follow one after the other on the same incident. Internationally, wreck removal is shaped by the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks 2007, and in Turkish waters the harbour master and the coastal authorities can direct an owner to remove or mark a wreck that threatens navigation or the environment.
General average
Where the master deliberately sacrifices part of the ship or cargo, or incurs extraordinary expense, to save the whole adventure from a common peril, the loss is shared between ship and cargo as general average, usually adjusted under the York-Antwerp Rules. A salvage payment made to keep the voyage safe is frequently allowed in general average, so the same casualty can generate both a salvage claim and a general-average adjustment running in parallel.
Coastal-state powers
Off the Turkish coast, a casualty quickly involves the harbour master, the Turkish Directorate General of Coastal Safety (Kıyı Emniyeti) and the pollution-response regime under Turkish environmental law. These authorities can give directions, require salvage or wreck-removal measures, and pursue clean-up costs. Their involvement runs alongside the private salvage claim and can shape what the salvor is required to do.
First 24 to 48 hours of a casualty in Turkish waters
What you do in the first day or two of a casualty often decides how the whole claim turns out. A short, disciplined checklist helps:
- Make people safe first. Saving life takes priority over property, and a life salvor's reward share is protected separately under TTK Art. 1318.
- Notify the authorities. Alert the local harbour master and the Coastal Safety authority promptly; environmental risk must be reported without delay.
- Tell your P&I club and hull underwriter at once. They will want to appoint surveyors and may steer the choice of salvor and contract.
- Be careful what you sign. Before agreeing an LOF, SCOPIC or any salvage or towage contract under pressure, get it reviewed. Terms agreed in the heat of a casualty can later be challenged under TTK Arts. 1301-1303, but it is far better to get them right at the outset.
- Preserve evidence. Keep the log, ECDIS and VDR data, photographs, timelines and a record of expenses; salved values and Art. 1305 criteria are proved on documents.
- Take Turkish advice early on arrest and security. If you are the salvor, plan the arrest before the ship sails; if you are the owner, line up security to avoid or release an arrest.
How Lexin Legal helps
Salvage and maritime liability disputes move quickly and pull in owners, charterers, cargo interests, P&I clubs and hull underwriters across several countries. Working in English with foreign clients, our Turkish maritime and shipping law team can advise on the strength of a salvage claim or defence, review LOF, SCOPIC and other salvage contracts, pursue or resist a reward and special compensation, arrest or release a vessel under a maritime lien, and coordinate with your foreign lawyers and insurers.
For related reading, see our guides to shipping laws and regulations in Turkey and to maritime legal support for shipping firms.
If you are a shipowner, insurer or salvor facing a casualty connected to Turkey, contact us to discuss your situation. Because every casualty turns on its own facts, the points above are general information, and a Turkish-qualified lawyer should review your specific matter.
Frequently asked questions
Does Turkish maritime law follow the no cure, no pay rule?
Yes. Turkish salvage law, in the Turkish Commercial Code (Law No. 6102, Art. 1304) and based on the 1989 Salvage Convention, rewards a salvor only when the operation produces a useful result, and the reward can never exceed the salved value. The main exception is environmental special compensation under Art. 1312, which can be payable even if the ship and cargo are not saved.
How is the amount of a salvage reward decided in Turkey?
There is no fixed tariff. Under TTK Art. 1305 a court or arbitrator weighs ten factors, including the salved value, the danger involved, the skill and effort of the salvors, success in protecting the environment, the time and expenses, and the readiness of the salvor's equipment. The reward cannot exceed the salved value of the property.
What is special compensation in salvage?
Special compensation, under TTK Art. 1312, lets a salvor who works on a vessel that threatened pollution recover expenses even when the ordinary reward is small or nil. If the salvor prevents or reduces environmental damage, the compensation can be increased by up to 30 per cent of expenses, and a tribunal may raise it further on equity grounds, but never beyond 100 per cent of the expenses.
Is there a time limit to bring a salvage claim in Turkey?
Yes. Under TTK Art. 1319 salvage claims must generally be brought within two years of the day the salvage operations ended, although the period can be extended by agreement. A salvage claim is also secured by a maritime lien over the salved vessel, so the salvor can arrest the ship in Turkey to collect, which is usually far more urgent than the two-year limit.
Can a salvor arrest a ship in Turkey to enforce a salvage claim?
Yes. A salvage claim is secured as a maritime lien over the salved vessel under the TTK, so the salvor can apply to a Turkish commercial court for a protective attachment and arrest the ship while she is at a Turkish port. The court usually requires counter-security, and arrest is time-sensitive because it is much harder once the vessel has sailed.
What is the difference between salvage and general average?
Salvage is a reward paid to an outside party who voluntarily saves a ship or cargo in danger. General average is the sharing of a loss between ship and cargo when the master deliberately sacrifices part of the adventure, or incurs extraordinary expense, to save the whole from a common peril, usually adjusted under the York-Antwerp Rules. The same casualty can give rise to both at once.
Is salvage the same as towage?
No. Ordinary towage is a contracted service paid at an agreed rate whatever the outcome. Salvage arises only when a vessel in real danger is voluntarily saved and is rewarded under the TTK. A tug performing routine towage can move into salvage if the danger goes beyond what the towage contract covers.
