Maritime lawyer in Türkiye for vessels, cargo and crew in Turkish ports
Ship arrest, maritime claims, cargo, seafarers, yachts, casualties and port penalties — from Ambarlı to İskenderun. Legal services in English and Turkish; correspondence in French.
Turkish Maritime Lawyer advises and acts for foreign owners, operators, creditors, crews and yacht owners whose vessel or claim is in a Turkish port — ship arrest, cargo, casualties, port penalties and yachts — with legal services in English and Turkish and correspondence in French.
Istanbul: commercial cases for the whole province are now heard at Çağlayan — maritime claims go to the 17th Commercial Court.
Read the notice →Shipbuilding and recycling · 29 September 2026Ship recycling: the Ship Recycling Facilities Regulation of 22 June 2026 has replaced the Ship Dismantling Regulation of 2004.
Read the notice →Port State Control · 17 September 2026Port State Control: the Implementing Regulation of 20 September 2025 is in force — objection within one month, to the Administration, not by the agent.
Read the notice →UrgentVessel arrested or detained?
What happens in the first 24 hours, what the court will ask for, and what to send us now.
Read first →Ship arrest · 12 min readHow is a ship arrested in Türkiye, step by step?
Read the guide →Ship arrest · 7 min readWhat security does the court ask for before arresting a vessel?
Read the guide →
Point at the part of the vessel.
Each area of the ship links to the practice area that deals with it — anchor to arrest, holds to cargo, bridge to Port State Control. Practice areas are listed; no claim of specialisation is made.
Practice areas
Eleven areas of maritime work. Practice areas are listed; no claim of specialisation is made.
Ship arrest
Arrest and release of vessels in Turkish ports, security, wrongful arrest.
Read more →Maritime claims and debt recovery
Bunkers, supplies, repairs, port dues, unpaid freight and hire; liens and time bars.
Read more →Cargo claims
Bills of lading, damage and shortage, delivery without a bill of lading, demurrage, the carrier's lien.
Read more →Charter parties and shipping contracts
Disputes under charter parties; arrest to secure them; enforcement of London and other awards in Türkiye.
Read more →Seafarers
Wages, abandonment, repatriation, injury and death on board; the lien and the arrest.
Read more →Yachts and pleasure craft
Transit log, the five-year stay, flag and port registry, purchase checks, marina and yard disputes.
Read more →Marine casualties
Collision, grounding, salvage, general average, limitation, incidents in the Turkish Straits.
Read more →Pollution fines and port penalties
Per-ton fines under the Environment Law; security for the release of the vessel; the thirty-day challenge.
Read more →Port State Control detention
Detentions under the 2025 Regulation: rectification, repair-yard passage, the one-month objection, access bans.
Read more →Sale and purchase, shipbuilding, recycling
Registry, flag and mortgage on a sale; hulls under construction at Tuzla and Yalova; the recycling plan at Aliağa.
Read more →Marine insurance
Hull, cargo, yacht and liability policies; direct action against the insurer; time bars; club letters.
Read more →Not sure which area?
Send the vessel name, IMO number and port. We will say which procedure applies and what it needs.
Send the vessel details →Where the vessel is
decides the court.
Ports we attend
Where the vessel is decides the court, the enforcement office and the timing. Istanbul directly; other ports through correspondent counsel.
All port pages →How instructions work
Four steps from first message to filing.
- 01
Send the vessel details
Vessel name, IMO number, current port and the nature of the claim.
- 02
Conflict check and fee proposal
We confirm that we can act and set out the fee and the documents needed.
- 03
Instruction and power of attorney
A notarised or consular power of attorney; we send the template.
- 04
Filing and attendance
Application to the competent court and attendance at the port.
Who acts for you
Av. Onur Çalışıcı and Av. Oruç Aygün — Istanbul Bar Association, reg. nos. 83426 and 83427. The practice is operated by Lexin Legal, Kağıthane, Istanbul. Legal services in English and Turkish. Correspondence in French.
- Telephone
- +90 538 035 51 55
- +90 538 035 51 55
- info@turkishmaritimelawyer.com
- Office
- Gürsel Mah. Karataş Sk. SNS Plaza Kat 3 No 6, 34413 Kağıthane / Istanbul