Turkish Maritime Law: Legal Support for Foreign Shipping Firms

Turkish maritime law is governed mainly by Book Five (Maritime Trade) of the Turkish Commercial Code, Law No. 6102, layered over the international conventions Turkey has ratified, such as SOLAS, MARPOL, the collision rules, the LLMC limitation convention and the 1999 Arrest Convention. This guide explains what foreign shipowners, operators, charterers and insurers need to know before they trade through Turkish waters, covering registration and ship taxes, charterparties, cargo claims, ship arrest, collision liability and the short deadlines that decide most maritime cases.

Why Turkish Maritime Law Matters to Foreign Shipping Firms

Turkey straddles Europe and Asia and controls two of the world's busiest waterways, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. Almost every commercial voyage to or from the Black Sea passes through Turkish jurisdiction, which means foreign shipowners, charterers, financiers and insurers regularly need to know how Turkish law treats their vessel, cargo or claim.

For foreign companies the difficulty is rarely the commercial deal. It is the interaction between Turkish domestic law, the international conventions Turkey has ratified, and a registration and court system that runs in Turkish. A vessel can be arrested in an Istanbul port over a debt incurred on the other side of the world; a cargo claim can be lost because a one-year deadline passed; an insurance recovery can fail on a late-notice point. Sound legal support keeps you compliant on both the domestic and the convention side and protects the asset.

If you are weighing a transaction or facing a dispute, our team can review the position with you. Start with a confidential enquiry or see our commercial and corporate services.

The Legal Framework: Statutes and Conventions

Turkish maritime law is a layer of domestic legislation sitting on top of the international conventions Turkey has ratified. The principal sources are:

• Turkish Commercial Code (TTK, Law No. 6102): Book Five ("Deniz Ticareti" / Maritime Trade), Articles 931 to 1400, is the dedicated maritime code. It governs the ship as legal property, ownership and the ship registry, maritime liens, carriage of goods and passengers by sea, charterparties, collision, salvage, general average, limitation of liability and the arrest of ships. Article 935 sets out the scope of these rules.
• Turkish Code of Obligations (TBK, Law No. 6098): Supplies the general contract and tort principles that underpin shipbuilding, sale and service agreements where the TTK is silent.
• International conventions: Turkey is party to SOLAS (safety of life at sea), MARPOL (pollution prevention), the COLREGs (collision rules), the LLMC 1976 as amended by its 1996 Protocol (limitation of liability), the Salvage Convention 1989, the CLC and Bunkers conventions (pollution liability) and the 1999 Arrest Convention. Many of these are incorporated directly into Book Five of the TTK.
• Private international law: Where a contract or incident has a foreign element, the Act on Private International and Procedural Law (MÖHUK, Law No. 5718) decides which law applies and whether a foreign judgment or arbitral award can be enforced in Turkey.

Vessel Registration: Turkish Ship Registry vs. TUGS

Ownership, mortgages and liens all turn on correct registration. A foreign owner has two main options, and the choice has real tax and crewing consequences.

The National Ship Registry (Milli Gemi Sicili) is the standard register under the TTK. The Turkish International Ship Registry (TUGS) was created by Law No. 4490 in 1999, specifically to attract owners who would otherwise pick a flag of convenience. Its headline advantage is tax: under that law, income earned from operating, and from selling, a TUGS-registered ship is exempt from Turkish corporate and income tax, and seafarers' wages on those ships are exempt from income tax.

Whichever register you choose, mortgages and liens follow the same logic. A registered ship mortgage gives the lender security, but certain maritime liens (crew wages, salvage, some damage claims) can rank ahead of it and survive a sale.

We advise on setting up a Turkish company to own or operate a vessel and on structuring vessel ownership through a Turkish or holding company, including TUGS eligibility and beneficial-ownership disclosure.

Shipbuilding, Sale and Purchase of Vessels

Shipbuilding Contracts

Shipbuilding is document-intensive and slow to unwind when it goes wrong. The legal work centres on three things: a clear, enforceable build contract that meets technical and class standards; the financing and security (including ship mortgages) and insurance for the build; and dispute mechanisms for delivery, specification or warranty disputes. Where a Turkish shipyard builds for a foreign owner and delivery slips, well-drafted remedies and a chosen arbitration seat decide who carries the loss. Our team handles the drafting and review of charterparties and shipbuilding contracts.

Sale and Purchase

Buying or selling a vessel follows a defined sequence:

1. Due diligence: Verifying title, class status, encumbrances and physical condition.
2. Contract formation: An agreement, often on a standard form such as the Norwegian Saleform, covering delivery, transfer of risk and regulatory compliance.
3. Financing and registration: Structuring payment, registering the change of ownership, and handling cross-border requirements.
4. Dispute management: Dealing with late delivery, non-payment or breach of warranty if matters go wrong.

Charterparties: Time, Voyage and Bareboat

Charterparties are where most commercial shipping disputes start, so they deserve their own attention. Turkish law recognises the three standard forms, and the wording of each clause decides who pays when a voyage is delayed or a cargo is damaged.

• Time charter: The owner hires out the ship and crew for a period. Off-hire clauses decide when hire stops running, for example during breakdowns.
• Voyage charter: The ship is hired for a specific voyage. Laytime and demurrage clauses control how long the charterer has to load and discharge before paying for delay.
• Bareboat (demise) charter: The charterer takes the ship without crew and effectively operates it as owner for the term, which matters for liability and for some registry purposes.

Most charterparty disputes in Turkey turn on demurrage, off-hire and the cargo described in the bill of lading. Many standard forms choose English law and London arbitration; where they do, the resulting award is still enforced in Turkey through the route described later in this guide. We help foreign clients with the drafting and negotiation of charterparties and with the disputes that follow.

Cargo Claims and Bills of Lading

Carriage of goods by sea is the most common source of cross-border maritime litigation. Turkey applies the Hague Rules at convention level, while the carriage chapter of the TTK (broadly Articles 1138 to 1245) reproduces a Hague-Visby-style regime in domestic law: the carrier's catalogue of excepted perils, a package or weight limitation on liability, and a strict time limit for claims.

Practical points that protect a cargo claim:

• Note apparent damage on delivery and give written notice without delay, since silence can shift the burden of proof.
• Preserve the bill of lading, mate's receipts, survey reports and the commercial invoice as a single file.
• Identify the correct defendant early. The contractual carrier on the bill of lading is not always the registered owner, and suing the wrong party can run the clock out.

Ship Arrest: Securing and Lifting an Arrest in Turkey

For a foreign creditor, arresting a ship in a Turkish port is often the fastest way to get security for an unpaid maritime debt, because the vessel cannot leave until the claim is secured. This is one of the most powerful tools in Turkish maritime practice and one of the most time-sensitive.

Turkey acceded to the 1999 International Convention on Arrest of Ships, which entered into force for Turkey on 11 December 2019. Inside the TTK, the arrest regime sits in Book Five. Article 1352 lists the "maritime claims" that justify an arrest, including damage caused by the ship's operation, salvage, collision damage, unpaid charter hire or freight, crew wages, mortgages and pollution damage. Under Article 1353, a ship can only be arrested to secure such a maritime claim, through a precautionary attachment order (ihtiyati haciz).

How an arrest works

• Show a maritime claim: You file at the competent commercial court with prima facie evidence of a claim listed in Article 1352. You do not need final, conclusive proof.
• Provide counter-security: The court will normally require the arresting party to post security to cover wrongful-arrest losses. The TTK sets a counter-security figure for this; confirm the current amount and form with counsel before filing.
• Enforce quickly: Once granted, the order is enforced through the port authority and the harbour master so the ship cannot sail.

Lifting an arrest

An owner facing an arrest usually lifts it by providing security, most often a P&I club letter of undertaking or a bank guarantee, in exchange for the vessel's release. The owner can also challenge the arrest itself if the claim does not qualify, the evidence is thin, or the formalities were not met.

We act for foreign clients on recovering maritime debts and arresting vessels, and for owners and clubs on lifting wrongful or excessive arrests.

Collisions, Liability and Salvage

Collisions, groundings and pollution incidents raise the hardest questions in maritime law. The TTK's maritime book, read with the international collision and salvage rules, governs how fault, salvage reward and limitation of liability are assessed.

• Liability assessment: Establishing and apportioning fault under the collision rules, and identifying who can limit liability and up to what ceiling.
• Limitation of liability: Owners, charterers, managers and salvors can generally cap their exposure at a tonnage-based ceiling under the LLMC 1976 as amended by its 1996 Protocol, which is incorporated into Book Five of the TTK (limitation provisions around Article 1328 onward). The 1996 Protocol set higher, SDR-denominated limits than the original 1976 figures, and those limits have been revised since; any figure must be checked against the version currently in force.
• Regulatory investigations: Handling inquiries from the Turkish Coast Guard and the harbour master, particularly after incidents in the crowded Bosphorus.
• Salvage: Negotiating salvage and wreck-removal under the Salvage Convention 1989 framework and resolving disputes over the reward.

After a Bosphorus collision, for instance, counsel secures and analyses the evidence, establishes liability under the collision rules, sets up a limitation fund if appropriate, and coordinates with the P&I clubs and regulators to resolve the claims.

Marine Insurance and Pollution Cover

Marine insurance is the backbone of risk management at sea. In Turkey it is governed by the insurance provisions of the TTK (Law No. 6102) together with insurance-sector regulation. The main covers are hull and machinery, Protection and Indemnity (P&I), cargo, and pollution liability.

• Policy interpretation: Reading coverage, warranties and exclusions correctly before an incident, not after.
• Claims handling: Notifying insurers promptly with full documentation, negotiating settlements, and pursuing or defending disputes through arbitration or the courts.
• Compulsory pollution cover: For oil pollution and bunker spills, the CLC and Bunkers conventions require the owner to carry insurance and to hold a certificate (a "Blue Card" / state certificate) evidencing that cover. Port-state control and the Coast Guard check these.

Where an insurer underpays or refuses, recovery may run through arbitration, the courts, or a subrogated claim against a third party, which can in turn justify enforcement action, including arresting the vessel that caused the loss.

Where Maritime Disputes Are Heard, and Enforcing Foreign Awards

Maritime disputes in Turkey are heard by the commercial courts of first instance (Asliye Ticaret Mahkemesi), which act as the specialised forum for shipping matters. Istanbul, as the country's commercial and shipping hub, sees the bulk of significant maritime litigation and arrest applications. The harbour master and the Coast Guard handle the administrative and safety side of an incident, but they do not decide civil liability; the courts do.

Many international shipping contracts choose foreign law and arbitration, typically English law and London arbitration. That choice is respected in Turkey, and the resulting award is enforced here:

• Arbitral awards are recognised and enforced under the New York Convention 1958, to which Turkey is a party, working alongside MÖHUK (Law No. 5718). Turkey applied the convention's reciprocity reservation, so awards from non-contracting states may face an extra hurdle, which counsel should check at the contract stage.
• Foreign court judgments are enforced through the recognition and enforcement (tenfiz) procedure under MÖHUK.

Where it can be agreed, arbitration or mediation often resolves a maritime dispute faster than court litigation.

Yachting and Foreign Owners

Foreign owners cruising or chartering yachts in Turkish waters face a distinct set of rules that frequently catch people out. The recurring issues are cabotage (commercial carriage between Turkish ports is generally reserved to Turkish-flagged vessels), the transit log required for foreign-flagged yachts, customs formalities for laying the yacht up, and the tax treatment of import and charter, including VAT and special consumption tax (ÖTV) exposure.

A yacht can also be registered under TUGS where it qualifies, which brings the same tax advantages discussed above. We advise foreign owners on yacht registration, the flag decision, customs compliance and charter structuring so the boat can be used and, where intended, chartered out without an unexpected tax or customs bill.

Practical Checklist for Shipping Firms

A short list of points that prevent the most common and most expensive mistakes:

• Choose the registry deliberately. Compare the National Ship Registry against TUGS (Law No. 4490) for tax, crewing and flag before you register.
• Confirm the vessel's legal status, class and encumbrances against the registry before any purchase or financing.
• Have counsel review every shipbuilding, sale, charter and management agreement before signing, including the governing-law and forum clauses.
• Diary the deadlines. Cargo claims carry a one-year time bar (TTK Art. 1188) and collision claims short prescription periods; missing them ends the claim.
• Give insurers prompt notice with full documentation after any incident, and check that compulsory pollution cover and certificates are in place.
• If you are owed money, move fast on ship arrest; if your ship is arrested, line up security to release it quickly.

To discuss a specific matter, reach us through a confidential enquiry or explore our maritime debt recovery and enforcement work.

Frequently asked questions