Ship Arrest in Türkiye (Turkey): A Practical Guide for Claimants and Shipowners

Türkiye sits on some of the world's busiest shipping routes, with major ports on the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean and the Mediterranean, and the Turkish Straits linking them. For a claimant with an unpaid maritime claim, a ship calling at a Turkish port can be an opportunity to obtain security quickly. For a shipowner or charterer, an arrest in Türkiye can stop a vessel within hours.

Ship arrest in Türkiye is governed mainly by the Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 (the "TCC"), Book Five, Articles 1350 to 1400, where it is called the precautionary attachment of ships (geminin ihtiyati haczi). The Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code No. 2004 fills the gaps. Türkiye is also a party to the International Convention on the Arrest of Ships 1999, which entered into force for Türkiye in December 2019; the TCC provisions had already been modelled closely on it.

This guide explains how the system works in practice, for claimants considering an arrest and for owners, charterers and P&I clubs responding to one.

The legal framework

The key rules sit in three places.

• The Turkish Commercial Code. Articles 1352 to 1376 deal with arrest, Articles 1377 to 1381 with enforcing secured claims, and Articles 1382 to 1397 with judicial sale and the ranking of claims. Maritime liens are dealt with earlier in Book Five.
• The Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code. It applies to matters the TCC does not regulate specifically, such as the procedure for objecting to an arrest.
• The 1999 Arrest Convention. Türkiye acceded in 2019. Because the TCC already follows the Convention closely, accession brought few practical changes, but the Convention is relevant to ships flying the flag of other contracting states.

Under Article 1350, the arrest, sale and other enforcement steps against a ship are governed by the law of the country where the ship is located at the time. A ship in Turkish waters is therefore subject to Turkish arrest rules whatever its flag.

Which claims allow a ship to be arrested?

Only a maritime claim can support an arrest. Article 1352 contains a closed list, which closely follows the 1999 Convention. In summary, it covers claims arising from:

Three further rules from Article 1353 matter in practice:

• Arrest is the only interim remedy. For a maritime claim, the court can order the arrest of the ship, but not an injunction or any other measure that stops the ship from sailing.
• Non-maritime claims cannot support an arrest. A creditor with an ordinary commercial claim against a shipowner cannot arrest the ship on that basis, although other assets may be attached under the general rules. Once a claim has become enforceable, however, a ship can be attached in ordinary enforcement proceedings whether or not the debt is a maritime claim (Article 1382).
• Claims not yet due. A ship can be arrested for a maritime claim that is not yet due only if the stricter conditions of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code are also met, broadly where the debtor is acting to defeat its creditors.

Which ships can be arrested?

Under Article 1369, the ship in respect of which the maritime claim arose can be arrested where, broadly:

• the person who owned the ship when the claim arose is liable for the claim and still owns it when the arrest is carried out;
• the bareboat (demise) charterer at the time the claim arose is liable for the claim, subject to the conditions the article sets;
• the claim is secured by a mortgage or similar charge on the ship;
• the dispute concerns ownership or possession of the ship; or
• the claim gives rise to a maritime lien over the ship.

Sister ships. Another ship can be arrested if, when the arrest is carried out, it belongs to the person liable for the claim, and that person was the owner, bareboat charterer, time charterer or voyage charterer of the ship in respect of which the claim arose. Sister ship arrest is not available for ownership or possession disputes, where only the ship in dispute can be arrested.

Associated ships. Turkish law contains no general rule allowing the arrest of ships owned by other companies in the same group as the debtor. Courts generally look at registered ownership, so a claim against one single-ship company will not usually justify arresting a vessel owned by a different company with the same managers.

Charterers' orders. Where a charterer rather than the owner ordered bunkers or services, the owner may not be personally liable, and whether the ship itself can be arrested depends on whether the claim is secured by a maritime lien or on the owner's liability. Courts review applications only on a prima facie basis, so these questions are often argued after the arrest rather than before it.

Which court decides the application?

• Foreign-flagged ships. Only the court of the place where the ship is anchored, moored, berthed or on the slipway can order the arrest (Article 1355).
• Turkish-flagged ships. The court of the place where the ship is located can order the arrest, as can the court of the ship's registry or, for unregistered ships, of the owner's domicile (Article 1354).
• After proceedings have started. Once a lawsuit on the claim has been filed in Türkiye, an arrest can be requested only from the court hearing it. If the claim is before an arbitral tribunal or a foreign court, the local court remains competent to order an arrest until a final judgment (Article 1357).

Istanbul and İzmir have commercial courts designated to hear maritime cases; elsewhere, applications go to the local commercial court of first instance.

Foreign jurisdiction and arbitration clauses. Article 1356 makes clear that a Turkish court can order an arrest to obtain security for a maritime claim even where the contract gives jurisdiction to a foreign court or an arbitral tribunal, or where the claim is governed by foreign law. This is one of the main reasons claimants use Turkish ports to obtain security for London or other foreign arbitrations.

Making the application

The application is made to the court without notice to the shipowner (ex parte). Under Article 1362, it is enough for the claimant to provide evidence that satisfies the court that the claim is a maritime claim listed in Article 1352 and shows its monetary value. The claimant does not have to prove the claim in full at this stage.

In practice, the claimant will usually need:

• a power of attorney in favour of Turkish counsel; one signed abroad normally needs to be notarised and apostilled or legalised;
• the documents supporting the claim, such as the charter party, invoices, bunker delivery notes, statements of account or survey reports, with Turkish translations;
• information identifying the vessel, its owner and its current position;
• the counter-security, arranged in advance.

Applications are generally dealt with quickly, often within a day, but timing depends on the court and the documents.

Counter-security: SDR 10,000

Article 1363 requires a claimant applying for an arrest to provide security of 10,000 Special Drawing Rights. This is a fixed amount, not a percentage of the claim. In practice it is given as a cash deposit or a guarantee from a Turkish bank, and the court will not examine the application until it is in place.

• Increase. The owner can ask the court at any stage to increase the counter-security. The court takes into account the ship's daily running costs and the earnings lost while it is detained. If the court orders additional security and it is not provided within the period set, the arrest lapses automatically.
• Reduction. The claimant can ask the court to reduce the counter-security.
• Exemption. Holders of maritime liens for crew wages and related sums are exempt from providing counter-security.

The counter-security protects the owner against losses caused by an unjustified arrest. Because the court can increase it, claimants should budget for the possibility that SDR 10,000 will not be the final figure, particularly for large vessels with high daily costs.

Carrying out the arrest

• Three working days. The claimant must ask the enforcement office to carry out the arrest order within three working days of the order. If it does not, the order lapses automatically (Article 1364).
• Immediately, at any hour. The enforcement office carries out the arrest immediately on request, including at night and on public holidays (Article 1365).
• Detention. The enforcement officer prevents the ship from sailing and takes it into custody. The arrest is notified to the master, the owner or operator, or their representative, and the ship is usually left with the master as custodian, who is reminded of the criminal consequences of letting it leave (Article 1366).
• Notifications. The enforcement office notifies the coast guard or police, the harbour master and customs straight away, and notifies the ship's registry and, for a foreign-flagged ship, the nearest consulate of the flag state on the next working day (Article 1366).
• Ships that have sailed. An arrest order against a foreign-flagged ship can be carried out with the coast guard's help until the ship leaves Turkish territorial waters (Article 1367).
• Earnings. The arrest also covers the income and benefits the debtor earns from operating the ship (Article 1368).

After the arrest: the one-month deadline

An arrest is a provisional measure. Under Article 1376, read with the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code, the claimant must normally start the main proceedings or enforcement proceedings on the claim within one month. If it does not, the arrest lapses, and the claimant may face a claim for the losses the arrest caused.

Where the contract contains an arbitration or foreign jurisdiction clause, the claim on the merits is pursued in that forum. Where there is no such clause, the Turkish court that ordered the arrest is also competent to hear the main claim, and the enforcement office that carried out the arrest is competent for the enforcement proceedings (Article 1359).

Turkish procedural rules, including the rules on mandatory mediation for certain commercial money claims, can affect how and when the main proceedings must be started. Because the periods are short and missing them ends the arrest, the timetable should be fixed with Turkish counsel at the time of the application.

Challenging an arrest

The owner or other party affected can object to an arrest order made without notice to it. Before proceedings on the merits are started, the objection is decided by the court that ordered the arrest; if the merits are before a Turkish court, by that court; and if they are before an arbitral tribunal or a foreign court, by the court that ordered the arrest (Article 1358). The same courts decide applications to change the order or to increase, reduce, change or cancel the security provided by either side.

Objections are made under the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Code within a short time limit, generally seven days, which can run from the date of the arrest or of notification. Typical grounds include that the claim is not a maritime claim, that the person liable is not the owner or bareboat charterer, that the ship is not one that can be arrested for the claim, or that the claim has not been shown prima facie.

Wrongful arrest. The court that ordered the arrest also hears any claim for damages against a claimant whose arrest proves unjustified. If the merits are being decided elsewhere, the damages claim waits for that outcome (Article 1361). The losses claimed must be proved.

Releasing the ship

The fastest way to end an arrest is usually to provide security.

• Release against security. The owner or the debtor can ask the court to lift the arrest by providing security sufficient for the whole claim, interest and costs, but not exceeding the value of the ship (Article 1371). Once enforcement proceedings have started, the application is made to the enforcement court.
• Release while the arrest continues. Alternatively, the ship can be released to the debtor against a deposit of its value or another guarantee acceptable to the enforcement officer, while the arrest technically remains in place (Article 1370).
• Form of security. Unless the parties agree otherwise, security is in practice a cash deposit or an unconditional, open-ended guarantee from a Turkish bank. The type and amount of security can be agreed freely between the claimant and the owner (Article 1372), which is how releases against a P&I club letter of undertaking or a foreign bank guarantee are usually achieved.
• No admission. Providing security is not an admission of liability and does not waive any defence or the right to limit liability (Article 1373).
• Changing the security. The person who provided security can apply at any time to reduce it, change its form or cancel it (Article 1374).

Re-arrest. Once a ship has been released, or security has been provided, it can be arrested again for the same claim only in limited cases, for example where the first security was insufficient, the person who gave it cannot meet its obligations, or the ship was released at the claimant's request for reasonable reasons (Article 1375).

Judicial sale and the ranking of claims

If the claim is not paid or secured, the claimant can proceed to enforcement and, eventually, a judicial sale. A sale requires an enforceable claim, which usually means a judgment, an arbitral award recognised in Türkiye or enforcement proceedings that have become final, and it is carried out by the enforcement office.

• Registered ships are sold under the rules for the sale of immovable property, and unregistered ships under the rules for movables (Article 1383).
• Foreign-registered ships. The enforcement office notifies the flag state's consulate and obtains the registry extract. The sale must be notified to the registry authority, registered mortgagees, known lien holders and the registered owner, or advertised in the registry country (Article 1384). The auction is also advertised nationally and in an international daily maritime newspaper (Article 1385).
• Early sale. The enforcement court can order an early sale where the ship's value is falling fast, its preservation is too expensive, or it endangers people, property or the environment (Article 1386).
• Clean title. The buyer acquires ownership when the ship is awarded or sold, and all rights and charges on the ship end once the price is paid, unless a mortgagee agrees to the buyer taking over its mortgage (Article 1388).

If the proceeds do not cover all claims, they are distributed in the following order (Articles 1390 to 1397):

Practical points for claimants

1. Act before the ship arrives. Track the vessel, prepare the power of attorney, translations and counter-security in advance, and confirm the court where it will berth or anchor.
2. Check ownership. Confirm the registered owner and any bareboat charter, and whether the person liable for the claim owns the ship at the time of the arrest.
3. Check the claim type. Make sure the claim falls within Article 1352, and consider whether a maritime lien applies.
4. Plan the follow-up. Identify where the merits will be decided and how the one-month deadline will be met before applying.
5. Budget for costs. Allow for court and enforcement fees, translation costs, any increase in counter-security and the cost of keeping the ship under arrest, which can fall on the claimant in the first instance.
6. Consider settlement. An arrest often leads to a negotiated release against agreed security, so decide in advance what form of security would be acceptable.

Practical points for owners, charterers and P&I clubs

1. Respond at once. The objection period is short and the ship's daily costs run from the first hour.
2. Review the basis of the arrest. Check whether the claim is a maritime claim, whether the owner is liable, and whether the evidence meets the prima facie threshold.
3. Ask for more counter-security where justified. An increase can be sought by reference to the ship's daily running costs and lost earnings.
4. Negotiate the form of security. If the claimant will accept a P&I letter of undertaking or a foreign bank guarantee, release can be faster than arranging a Turkish bank guarantee or cash.
5. Preserve wrongful arrest rights. Keep records of costs and lost earnings in case the arrest proves unjustified.

Related reading

• Customs, import and export in Turkey
• Dispute resolution in Türkiye
• Debt recovery in Türkiye
• International trade
• Enforcement of international arbitration awards in Turkey
• Enforcing foreign court judgments in Turkey

This page is general information about Turkish law and practice at the date shown above. It is not legal, tax or customs advice and should not be relied on as such. Rules, thresholds and procedures in Türkiye change frequently and their application depends on the facts, so take advice on your own circumstances before acting. Advice on Turkish law is provided through lawyers qualified in Türkiye.