How are you, Ms. Gizem? Today, I will only ask about the most frequently wondered questions regarding Maritime Trade Law.

How are you, Ms. Gizem? Today, I will only be asking about the most frequently wondered topics regarding Maritime Trade Law.

Hello Ms. Yağmur, thank you very much, I am fine, how are you? First of all, I would like to express my sorrow regarding the earthquake disaster that occurred in our country. I wish condolences to all the earthquake victims who lost their lives in the disaster, and to their families and loved ones.

Yes, our topic today is the most frequently wondered topics regarding Maritime Trade Law, and I will try to answer your questions to the best of my ability.

What is Maritime Trade Law?

To define Maritime Trade Law in a general sense; it is described as the branch of law that regulates the legal transactions regarding ships and the navigation of ships at sea. Maritime Trade Law is divided into eight sections within itself. It is important to know what a ship is within the meaning of the Turkish Commercial Code. The reason for this is that the provisions of this law cannot be applied to ships that do not comply with the definition in the Turkish Commercial Code. In Maritime Trade Law, the first question encountered is who the shipowner (donatan) is. The shipowner is the name given to the person who operates their ship for the purpose of earning profit in maritime trade. The shipowner has certain responsibilities. These responsibilities are regulated both in the Turkish Commercial Code and by international conventions.

Maritime Trade Law; Countries have been in an effort to benefit from the advantages provided by maritime trade. Trade conducted via waterways and maritime transport has enabled the economic development of countries. As a result of this development, the necessity of organizing maritime trade and identifying and finding solutions to commercial difficulties has arisen. The question of what maritime law is can be defined in this context. Maritime law is the branch of law that deals with legal problems arising in matters related to the use of sea and ocean waters. The sharing of seas and oceans by sovereign states and crimes committed in these regions are within the scope of maritime law.

After defining maritime law, the question of what maritime trade law is comes to mind. The regulation of rules concerning the problems arising in matters of the safety and reliability of the ship, the crew, and the people or cargo transported constitutes maritime trade law.

What is a Ship Registry?

A ship registry is an official register dedicated to the registration of elements that allow for the identification of ships possessing certain qualifications, as well as the records of rights in rem over them (such as ownership, mortgage, and usufruct), annotations, objections, or restrictions on disposal. The ship registry is generally the register where ships are recorded.

The Ship Registry is regulated under Articles 954 and 955 of the Turkish Commercial Code. Although the phrase "National Ship Registry" is not used in these articles, Article 2(c) of the Turkish International Ship Registry Law (TUGSK) defines this registry as the National Ship Registry in order to distinguish it from other registries.

For Turkish ships, ship registries are maintained in places deemed appropriate by the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications.

There are a total of ten ship registries in Turkey, namely in Antalya, Bandırma, Çanakkale, İskenderun, Istanbul, Izmir, Mersin, Samsun, Trabzon, and Zonguldak.

The National Ship Registry is public. The registry is open to everyone, and anyone can examine the registry records and obtain approved or unapproved copies upon payment of the fee. Furthermore, a person who convincingly demonstrates that they have a legitimate interest is authorized to examine and obtain copies of registry files, documents referred to in the ship registry for the completion of a record, and pending registration requests.

What is Included in the Scope of a Ship Mortgage?

According to the relevant provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code, the ship or ship share, the charter hire, the expropriation price of the ship, the compensation to be paid due to the loss and damage of the ship, and the insurance compensation are within the scope of the mortgage. Ship and Ship Share: A ship mortgage covers the ship along with its constituent parts and accessories.

Who Has the Right to Fly the Turkish Flag? Can Every Ship Fly the Turkish Flag?

In accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: Every state shall determine the conditions for granting its nationality to ships, the conditions for the registration of ships in its territory, and the conditions necessary for them to have the right to fly its flag. Ships have the nationality of the state whose flag they are authorized to fly. There must be a genuine link between the state and the ship.

In our legal system, the right of ships to fly the Turkish flag is regulated in Article 940 of the Turkish Commercial Code. According to Article 940 of the Turkish Commercial Code, "Every Turkish ship flies the Turkish flag." However, the question of which ships are Turkish ships arises at this point. If a ship belongs to a natural person, the ship is considered a Turkish ship if this natural person is a Turkish citizen. At the same time, if the ship belongs to more than one natural person and there is shared ownership between them, the ship is considered a Turkish ship if the majority of the shares belong to Turkish citizens. In the case of joint ownership (el birliği), it is also sufficient for the majority of the owners to be Turkish citizens for it to be considered a Turkish ship. If the owner of the ship is a legal entity, such as an institution, organization, association, or foundation, the majority of the members of the Board of Directors must be Turkish citizens. If it is a ship belonging to trading companies, the majority of those authorized to manage must be Turkish citizens. For example, if the owner of the ship is a collective company (kollektif şirket), since all partners in a collective company have the authority to manage, the majority must be Turkish. In joint-stock and limited partnerships with capital divided into shares, the majority of the shares must be registered, and the transfer of shares to foreigners must be subject to the approval of the company's Board of Directors.

Under certain conditions, foreign ships are also granted the right to fly the Turkish flag. A foreign ship must meet certain conditions in order to fly the Turkish flag. One of the conditions is that the ship must have been left for at least 1 year to be operated by persons who meet the requirements in Article 940 of the Turkish Commercial Code. The owner of the ship must give consent for the ship to fly the Turkish flag, and the provisions of Turkish legislation regarding the captain and ship officers must be complied with on the ship. Finally, there must be no provision in the laws of the state whose flag the ship carries that prevents this. Ships permitted to fly the flag in this manner are registered in a special registry by the Ministry.

It is possible for Turkish ships to fly a foreign flag. In order for a Turkish ship to fly a foreign flag, the ship must have been left to foreigners for at least 1 year to be operated in their own name. The owner of the ship must make a request to fly a foreign flag, and permission to fly a foreign flag must be granted by the Ministry. Turkish ships that meet these conditions will be able to fly a foreign flag if the laws of the country whose flag is requested to be flown also allow it. Although it is not a strict requirement, in practice, it is generally observed that the situation is registered in the ship registry.

If a ship that does not have the right to fly the Turkish flag flies the Turkish flag, or if a ship that should fly the Turkish flag flies a foreign flag, the captain of the ship is punished with 6 months of imprisonment or a judicial fine.

What does the ship registry show us?

The ship registry is the register where the distinguishing elements of the ship and the rights over the ship and the limitations regarding these rights are recorded.

The Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications keeps the ship registry in places it deems appropriate for Turkish ships.

A prerequisite for ships to be registered in this registry is that the ship must have the right to fly the Turkish flag in accordance with Article 940 of the Turkish Commercial Code. In addition, it must not be registered in the ship registry of a foreign state.

The ship is registered at the registry office where its home port is located. If the home port of the ship is not in a port city, or if it is in a foreign country, or if the voyages of the ship are managed from the ship, the owner may have the ship registered at the office they wish.

Not all ships can be registered in the ship registry. This issue is regulated in Articles 956 and 957 of the Turkish Commercial Code. The registration of merchant ships with a volume of 18 gross tons or larger is mandatory. Merchant ships smaller than 18 gross tons, or ships that are not merchant ships regardless of their tonnage, may be registered in the ship registry. Ships that are not accepted as Turkish ships cannot be recorded in this registry.

Is it possible to take possession of an ownerless ship?

The right to take possession of an ownerless ship belongs only to the State. An ownerless ship is a ship whose owner cannot be determined from the registry records or whose ownership has been duly abandoned. The State acquires ownership over the ship by registering itself as the owner in the ship registry.

What are the points to consider in ship charter agreements?

In accordance with Article 1119/1 of the Turkish Commercial Code, it is possible to define a ship charter agreement as "a contract in which the lessor undertakes to leave the use of the ship to the charterer for a certain period of time in return for a charter fee."

In accordance with Article 1119/2 of the Turkish Commercial Code, it is stipulated that "the lessor's undertaking to place the crew at the disposal of the charterer together with the ship does not change the nature of the contract." In this sense, including the services of the crew along with the ship in the subject of the charter agreement does not remove the contract from being a ship charter agreement.

Thank you for the information you provided. Finally, what would you like to say?

First of all, thank you very much for your kind interview request. In addition to the questions I have answered regarding Maritime Trade Law, the most important point I can add is that it is a very specific field with its own rules. Every case carries its own characteristics. I would like to state that it is necessary to carry out this process with people who are experts in this subject.