- The claimant lodges 10,000 SDR before the arrest is ordered; seafarers claiming wages are exempt (TCC art. 1363).
- The owner can ask for that sum to be increased on the vessel's running costs and lost earnings; if the increase is not lodged in time, the arrest lapses (TCC art. 1363(2)).
- The owner frees the vessel with a deposit, a mortgage or a bank guarantee accepted by the enforcement officer, or by agreement with the claimant — the route for a P&I letter (TCC arts 1370–1372).
- Giving security is not an admission of liability (TCC art. 1373).
Before a Turkish court arrests a vessel for a maritime claim, the claimant must lodge security of 10,000 Special Drawing Rights (TCC art. 1363(1)). That is the fixed starting point. What the owner can then do about it, and what security the owner gives to free the vessel, are the two questions this guide answers.
The claimant's security
The amount is set by the Code in Special Drawing Rights, the IMF's unit of account, so its value in Turkish lira, euro or dollars changes daily; the court takes the rate on the day the security is lodged. In practice the security is lodged in cash into the court's account or by a bank guarantee letter acceptable to the court.
It is not a fee: it stays with the court to answer any claim by the owner for damages should the arrest prove unjustified.TCC art. 1361 — released when that risk has passed or the parties agree
Increase, reduction, lapse
- Increase (owner). The owner may ask the court that made the order, at any stage, to increase the claimant's security. The court weighs the vessel's daily running costs for the period she is held and the earnings lost because of the arrest; if it orders an increase it also sets a time for lodging the additional sum, and if that time passes without payment the arrest order lapses automatically (TCC art. 1363(2)).
- Reduction (claimant). The claimant, for its part, may ask the same court to reduce the amount (TCC art. 1363(4)).
- Which court. Applications to increase, reduce, change or cancel either side's security are decided by the court that made the order, or by the trial court if an action on the merits is already before a Turkish court (TCC art. 1358).
The owner's security — freeing the vessel
| Route | What is given | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| To the enforcement officer | A deposit of the vessel's value, or a real-estate mortgage, a ship mortgage or a reputable bank guarantee accepted by the officer; the arrest continues over the security, and the harbour master, coast guard, customs and registry are told that she has been released | TCC art. 1370 |
| To the court | Sufficient security for the whole claim with interest and costs, up to the value of the vessel, to lift the arrest altogether; once enforcement has begun, the application goes to the enforcement court | TCC art. 1371 |
| By agreement with the claimant | Type and amount agreed freely — the route for a P&I club letter of undertaking, which is not on the statutory list and therefore depends on the claimant's acceptance | TCC art. 1372 |
Whoever gave security may apply at any time to have it reduced, its type changed or cancelled (TCC art. 1374), and giving it is neither an admission of liability nor a waiver of any defence or of the right to limit liability (TCC art. 1373).
- The claimant lodges 10,000 SDRTCC art. 1363(1)
- The owner may ask for an increase; unpaid, the arrest lapsesTCC art. 1363(2)
- The owner frees the vessel: deposit, mortgage or bank guaranteeTCC art. 1370
Or a P&I club letter, by agreement with the claimantTCC art. 1372
Release; no second arrest for the same claimTCC art. 1375
Seafarers claiming wages lodge no security (TCC art. 1363(3)).
After release
A vessel released against security cannot normally be arrested again for the same claim. The exceptions (TCC art. 1375):
- a first security that turns out insufficient in type or amount;
- a security provider who fails to perform;
- a release that the claimant could not reasonably have prevented.
A vessel that escapes the arrest unlawfully is not treated as released (TCC art. 1375). Other maritime creditors may join the arrest until the money lodged as security has actually been paid out of the enforcement cashier (TCC art. 1370(3)), but once the court has ordered the security paid to the claimant at the end of the action on the merits, other creditors cannot attach it (TCC art. 1371(3)).
Updates to this guide
17 September 2026
Rewritten against the text of TCC arts 1358, 1361, 1363 and 1370–1375.
10 September 2026
First published.
Questions readers ask
Is 10,000 SDR the whole cost of arresting a vessel?
No. It is the security the Code requires from the claimant (TCC art. 1363); court and enforcement fees are paid on top, and the owner may obtain an increase of the security to reflect the vessel's running costs and lost earnings (TCC art. 1363(2)). Our fee is set out in the fee proposal after the conflict check.
Does the claimant get the security back?
The security answers the owner's claim for damages if the arrest proves unjustified (TCC art. 1361). It is released by the court when that risk has passed — typically when the action on the merits ends without such a claim — or when the parties agree.
Can the owner give a P&I club letter instead of a bank guarantee?
Only if the claimant agrees. The statutory forms are a deposit of the vessel's value, a real-estate mortgage, a ship mortgage or a bank guarantee accepted by the enforcement officer (TCC art. 1370); anything else rests on the parties' agreement under TCC art. 1372.