TÜRKIYE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Türker Yıldırım, Semih Sander, Gülistan Baltacı Hatay and Selçuk Sencer Esenyel, Esenyel|Partners Lawyers & Consultants
Ongoing Legislative Reforms Draft Maritime Enforcement Law
On 1 November 2025, the Scientific Commission responsible for drafting the Draft Law, together with academics, judges, representatives of the Turkish maritime industry and legal practitioners, held an academic conference to discuss the Draft Law text. During the conference, it was proposed that, in addi - tion to the general Enforcement Offices, specialised Maritime Enforcement Offices should be established. Consensus on the need for a renewed Maritime Labour Law The Maritime Labour Law No 854 (MLL) covers the labour law provisions applicable to seafarers who work under an employment contract on vessels of 100 gross tons and above and flying the Turkish flag, as well as to their employers, whereas the employ - ment rights and obligations of seafarers who work on a foreign-flagged vessel are subject to the Turkish Code of Obligations No 6098 (TCO). Nevertheless, the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) – adopted by the International Labour Organization, and which entered into force on 20 August 2013 with the aim of establishing international standards for sea - farers to ensure safe and decent working and employ - ment conditions for seafarers – has not been ratified by Türkiye. Although the MLC came close to being put into practice following its publication on 25 March 2017 in the Official Gazette, it has not yet been incor - porated into domestic legislation, as the ratification process has not been completed. Consequently, it has not become a piece of legislation that Turkish courts must take into account when issuing judgments. Therefore, even if an employment contract complies with the MLC in line with international requirements, Turkish courts render their decisions in accordance with Turkish domestic law (MLL, TCO) and precedents of the Turkish Court of Cassation. The reason why employment contracts are often drafted in line with the MLC – regardless of whether or not Türkiye has ratified it – is that, when a Turkish-flagged vessel calls at a port in a state that has ratified the MLC, port state authorities typically expect the employment contracts on board to comply with MLC standards. The MLL and TCO contains different rules on matters such as entitlement to compensation, calculation of overtime, annual leave and weekly rest periods. These
The Turkish Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law No 2004 (EBL) has been in force since 1932, with only partial changes over the years. In August 2025, the Ministry of Justice published the Draft Compulsory Enforcement Law (the “Draft Law”), with the stated aim of introducing modernised enforcement legisla - tion. At present, the rules governing maritime enforcement are fragmented between the Turkish Commercial Code No 6102 (TCC) and the EBL. The Draft Law consoli - dates all provisions relating to maritime enforcement into a single legislative framework, and introduces notable changes. Under the current TCC provisions, the competent court for the arrest of a foreign-flagged vessel is the court at the location where the vessel is anchored, berthed or dry-docked. The Draft Law introduces a new rule: if vessel tracking systems show that the ves - sel will call at a specific location within Turkish territo - rial waters, an arrest application may also be submit - ted to the court at that location. This provision aims to mitigate the risk of the vessel departing the port within a short period, and grants the court the author - ity to examine an arrest application even if the vessel has not yet berthed. Once the court grants the arrest order, the arresting party must apply to the enforce - ment office within one week from service of the deci - sion to execute the order. Otherwise, the arrest order will become null and void. The Draft Law also introduces significant changes regarding the sale of a vessel pendente lite. Under the current TCC provisions, an application for a sale pendente lite may be made where the vessel’s value rapidly declines, the cost of maintaining the vessel is high, or the vessel or her cargo poses a risk to naviga - tion safety, life, property or the environment. The Draft Law removes the requirement that the vessel owner must have in personam liability for a maritime claim to request a sale pendente lite, regardless of the ves - sel’s flag. Furthermore, the court’s decision on the sale pendente lite will be final and not appealable.
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