Navigating the Seas: A Guide to Turkish Maritime Law

Turkish maritime law is the body of rules governing ships, the cargo they carry and the people who own, charter and insure them, and it is codified mainly in Book Five of the Turkish Commercial Code (TTK, Law No. 6102), articles 931 to 1400. This guide explains how that framework works in practice for foreign shipowners, charterers, cargo interests and insurers whose vessels call at Turkish ports, whose goods pass through Türkiye, or whose contracts are governed by Turkish law. It covers carriage of goods, marine insurance, salvage, how to arrest a ship to secure an unpaid claim, the time limits that can quietly extinguish a strong case, and where your dispute is heard.

What Turkish maritime law covers

Maritime law (deniz ticareti hukuku) governs ships, the people who own and operate them, and the cargo and passengers they carry. In Türkiye the core of this law sits in Book Five of the Turkish Commercial Code (TTK, Law No. 6102), which runs from article 931 to article 1400 and addresses vessels, shipowners and operators, carriage of goods and passengers, marine casualties, maritime liens and the arrest of ships.

For a foreign client the practical point is simple. If your vessel calls at a Turkish port, your cargo moves through Türkiye, or your contract is governed by Turkish law or carries a Turkish court or arbitration clause, Turkish maritime law may decide your rights. Our Turkish maritime and transport law services are delivered in English to international shipowners, charterers, freight forwarders, traders and underwriters who need that framework explained without jargon.

• Ships and ownership — registration in the Turkish ship registry and the legal status of the vessel.
• Carriage of goods by sea — bills of lading, charterparties and carrier liability.
• Marine insurance — hull, cargo and protection-and-indemnity (P&I) cover.
• Casualties — collision, salvage and general average.
• Enforcement — ship arrest, maritime liens and dispute resolution.

The legal framework and international conventions

Turkish maritime law does not stand alone. When the Commercial Code was rewritten in 2011, the drafters deliberately aligned Türkiye with the main international maritime regimes, so foreign operators meet familiar concepts rather than purely local rules. There is, however, an important distinction that many guides get wrong: some of these regimes are conventions Türkiye has actually ratified as treaties, while others were brought in by copying their substance into the TTK. The difference matters when you argue a point of law.

Conventions Türkiye has ratified

• The 1989 International Convention on Salvage — implemented through TTK 6102 (art. 1298 et seq.).
• The 1999 International Convention on Arrest of Ships — implemented through TTK 6102, which defines the qualifying maritime claim (art. 1352) and the arrest procedure (art. 1353 et seq.).

International regimes whose substance the TTK adopts

• The Hague-Visby Rules on bills of lading and carrier liability. Türkiye did not accede to Hague-Visby as a treaty, but TTK 6102 (art. 1178 et seq.) reproduces its liability and package/kilogram limitation framework.
• The 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC). Türkiye is not a contracting state to the 1976 LLMC or its 1996 Protocol; instead TTK 6102 (art. 1328 et seq.) incorporates an LLMC-style global limitation regime into domestic law.
• The York-Antwerp Rules on general average, which apply because the carriage contract adopts them, not because of any treaty.

Carriage of goods by sea: bills of lading and charterparties

Most maritime disputes that reach a Turkish court concern cargo. Under TTK 6102 (art. 1178 et seq.) the carrier is liable for loss, damage or delay to the goods unless it shows that the loss falls within a recognised exception or that it exercised due diligence to make the vessel seaworthy before and at the start of the voyage.

Bills of lading

A bill of lading (konişmento) is three things at once: a receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage, and a document of title. Turkish law recognises the lawful holder's right to take delivery and gives effect to the goods description stated in the bill. Foreign traders rely on these provisions constantly when cargo arrives damaged or short. For the documents that move alongside the bill, see our guide to transport documents in international carriage of goods.

Charterparties

Voyage, time and bareboat (demise) charters are all used in the Turkish trade, and each splits risk differently. The terms you sign are read against the default rules of TTK 6102 and the general contract principles of TBK 6098.

Two terms foreign charterers search for directly are worth defining. Laytime is the time the charter allows for loading and discharging; if the charterer exceeds it, demurrage (a daily sum agreed in the charter) becomes payable to the owner for the delay. Off-hire is the opposite direction: under a time charter, hire stops running while the vessel is unavailable to the charterer through the owner's fault, such as a breakdown or detention. The exact triggers and amounts come from the charter wording, which is why precise drafting and reviewing of shipping contracts pays off.

How much can a sea carrier limit its liability?

One of the first questions a cargo owner asks after a loss is how much the carrier actually has to pay. Turkish law applies two separate limitation layers, both copied into the TTK from international practice.

The first is package limitation for cargo claims under the carriage rules (TTK 6102, art. 1186 in line with the Hague-Visby framework): the carrier can cap its liability at a set amount per package or unit, or per kilogram of gross weight of the goods lost or damaged, whichever produces the higher figure. The unit of account is the Special Drawing Right (SDR), an IMF currency basket converted into Turkish lira on the relevant date.

The second layer is global limitation (TTK 6102, art. 1328 et seq.), the LLMC-style regime that lets a shipowner cap its total exposure from a single incident — across all claims combined — by reference to the tonnage of the vessel, by constituting a limitation fund. This is what prevents one casualty from producing unlimited liability. Whether a carrier can rely on either limit, and at what figure, depends on the facts, the tonnage and the conduct alleged.

Marine insurance, salvage and general average

Marine insurance and the insurer's recourse

Marine insurance in Türkiye is governed by the insurance provisions of TTK 6102 read together with the policy wording, which in practice often incorporates English-market clauses such as the Institute Cargo and Hull Clauses. Hull, cargo and P&I cover are all common. Disputes usually turn on the scope of cover, the insured's duty of disclosure, and subrogation — once the insurer pays the claim, it steps into the insured's shoes and can pursue the party at fault. That recourse action is, in substance, a debt to be recovered, which is where marine insurance meets debt collection and enforcement: an insurer that has paid out can move against the responsible carrier or its vessel in Türkiye.

Salvage

Türkiye is a party to the 1989 Salvage Convention, applied through TTK 6102 (art. 1298 et seq.). A salvor who saves a vessel or cargo from peril is entitled to a reward assessed on factors such as the value salved, the skill and effort involved and the danger faced. Special compensation may be payable where the salvor prevents or limits environmental damage even if little property is saved — a meaningful protection given the density of traffic through the Turkish Straits. For a deeper treatment, read our note on liability and salvage in maritime law.

General average

Where a sacrifice or extraordinary expenditure is made to save the whole adventure — jettisoning cargo, paying for emergency repairs — the loss is shared among all interests in proportion to their value. This is general average, usually adjusted under the York-Antwerp Rules incorporated by the carriage contract. Cargo interests are often required to post security before goods are released, and the figures can be substantial, so the demand for a general-average bond or guarantee should be reviewed before it is signed.

How to arrest a ship in a Turkish port

For a creditor with an unpaid maritime claim, the most powerful remedy in Türkiye is arrest of the ship. Arrest (ihtiyati haciz) is an interim measure that detains the vessel in a Turkish port to secure the claim while the merits are resolved. It follows the 1999 Arrest Convention as implemented in TTK 6102 — the qualifying maritime claim is defined in article 1352 and the arrest procedure in article 1353 et seq. — dovetailing with the enforcement machinery of İİK No. 2004.

The arrest in outline

• Qualifying claim. Arrest is available only for a claim the law treats as maritime — for example unpaid freight or hire, cargo loss or damage, salvage, collision damage, crew wages, bunker (fuel) supply or ship repairs (art. 1352).
• Which court. The application is made to the commercial court of first instance (Asliye Ticaret Mahkemesi) with jurisdiction over the port where the vessel lies. Istanbul, with its specialised commercial benches, handles a large share of Türkiye's maritime litigation.
• Evidence. You file the documents that establish the claim and the vessel's presence — the bill of lading or charter, invoices, the supply or repair contract, correspondence and proof the ship is in or expected at the port.
• Counter-security. The arresting party normally has to post security against the risk of wrongful arrest before the court grants the order; the amount is set by the court.
• Release. The shipowner secures release by posting a guarantee — typically a bank guarantee or P&I club letter — for the claimed amount, converting the arrest into financial security.
• Speed. Arrest applications can move quickly, which is why suppliers, crews and cargo owners use Turkish ports as a place to enforce.

First 24 to 48 hours after a maritime loss

What you do in the first day or two after a casualty or cargo loss often shapes the whole claim. A short, practical checklist for an anxious cargo owner, charterer or insurer:

• Preserve the evidence. Keep the bill of lading, charter, mate's receipts, survey reports, photographs, temperature/log data and all correspondence. Do not return originals before taking advice.
• Note the vessel's position. If you may need to arrest, find out where the ship is and when it is due to sail — the window can be short.
• Give notice in time. Many contracts and policies require notice of loss within days; a late notice can weaken cover even where the claim is sound.
• Appoint a surveyor. An independent cargo or hull survey taken early carries far more weight than one arranged weeks later.
• Protect the time bar. Diary the one-year carriage limit (TTK 6102, art. 1188) immediately and check whether any other, shorter period applies.
• Take local advice early. Before you sign any general-average bond, letter of undertaking or release, have it reviewed.

Jurisdiction, applicable law and dispute resolution

Cross-border shipping contracts routinely contain choice-of-law and jurisdiction clauses. Under MÖHUK No. 5718, Turkish courts will generally respect a valid choice of foreign law for the substance of a contract, while procedural questions remain governed by Turkish law (HMK No. 6100). Where the parties have not chosen, the law most closely connected to the contract applies. Maritime cases in court are heard by the commercial courts of first instance, with Istanbul carrying much of the maritime caseload.

Many maritime contracts choose arbitration — frequently London or institutional rules — and Türkiye, as a party to the New York Convention, enforces foreign arbitral awards subject to limited grounds for refusal. Foreign court judgments can be recognised and enforced through the exequatur (tenfiz) procedure under MÖHUK 5718. If your contract points to arbitration or a foreign forum, our work on arbitration and cross-border dispute resolution covers both the clause and its enforcement in Türkiye.

Because procedural and limitation rules are unforgiving, confirm the forum, the governing law and the applicable time bar before a dispute escalates rather than after. If you are unsure how these rules apply to your contract, you can ask us for a clear, English-language assessment, or read our wider overview of shipping laws and regulations in Türkiye.

Frequently asked questions