Crew wages unpaid in a Turkish port: what can seafarers do?

A crew whose wages have stopped, on a vessel lying in a Turkish port, can secure what it is owed by arresting the ship — without the security every other creditor must lodge, and ahead of the bank that holds the mortgage. This guide sets out what the crew can do, in the order it is done, and what changes when the vessel flies the Turkish flag.

What the claim is worth in law

Wages and other sums due to seafarers for their service on board, including repatriation costs and the social insurance contributions payable for them, are maritime claims under art. 1352 of the Turkish Commercial Code and carry a maritime lien over the vessel (TCC art. 1320(1)(a)). The lien:

• follows the vessel into any hands (TCC art. 1321(5));
• secures principal, interest and costs (TCC art. 1322);
• ranks ahead of all mortgages and other charges (TCC art. 1323).

Whether a claim gives a lien is decided by Turkish law whenever the claim is pursued in Türkiye (TCC art. 1320(3)), so the flag does not change this part.

Step by step

1. Fix the figures. Each seafarer's agreement, the wage accounts and allotment records, and a simple statement of what is owed to whom and since when. On a Turkish-flagged vessel the notarised wage book is the primary record, and payment claims not supported by it are not valid (Law No. 854 art. 31).
2. Decide who applies. The seafarers themselves, jointly; a union or welfare body acting under a power of attorney; or a manning agent or P&I club that has advanced wages or repatriation and taken an assignment of the claims; the lien passes with the claim (TCC art. 1325).
3. Apply to the court of the port. For a foreign-flagged vessel only the court of the place where she is anchored, moored or berthed can order the arrest (TCC art. 1355). The court needs evidence that satisfies it that the claim is a maritime claim and of its amount (TCC art. 1362). Wage claimants holding the lien are exempt from the 10,000 SDR security (TCC art. 1363(3)).
4. Execute within three business days. The order must be taken to the enforcement office within three business days or it lapses (TCC art. 1364); the office executes immediately, at night and on holidays if need be (TCC art. 1365), bars the vessel from sailing, and notifies the harbour master, customs, the coast guard, the registry and the flag state's consulate (TCC art. 1366).
5. Keep the crew fed and the vessel safe. The enforcement office takes the measures needed for the vessel's management, maintenance and protection while she is held (TCC art. 1368). Provisions and repatriation advanced by a union, club or agent are pursued alongside the wages.
6. Release against security, or sale. The owner usually frees the vessel by giving security for the whole claim with interest and costs (TCC arts 1370–1372); the crew is then paid out of the security. If nobody pays, the vessel is sold by the enforcement office (TCC art. 1383) and the lien is paid first, ahead of the mortgage (TCC art. 1323).
7. Proceedings on the merits within one month. The arrest secures the claim; the claim itself must be brought within one month of execution (TCC art. 1376), before the court that ordered the arrest unless another forum was agreed (TCC art. 1359).

If the vessel flies the Turkish flag

The Turkish Maritime Labour Law adds direct rights against the employer.

If the vessel flies another flag

The employment agreement and the flag state's law govern the wages and the repatriation. Türkiye does not appear among the states that have ratified the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (ILO ratification list, checked 17 September 2026), so the Convention's abandonment provisions are not applied as Turkish law.

What Turkish law gives the crew is the lien, the arrest without security and the priority in a sale — which in practice is what brings the owner or its insurer to the table.TCC arts 1320, 1323, 1363(3)

Updates to this guide