Cargo claims
Cargo loss, damage, delay and misdelivery under bills of lading in Turkish ports — the carrier's liability, defences and limits, notice and the one-year time bar. Practice areas are listed; no claim of specialisation is made.
Written forCargo interests · Forwarders · Carriers · Insurers
Articles cited checked against the official text of the legislation · 17 September 2026
What is a cargo claim under Turkish law?
- The carrier is liable for loss of or damage to the goods, and for delay, occurring while the goods are in its charge (TCC art. 1178).
- In performing the contract the carrier must show the care of a diligent carrier in loading, stowing, handling, carrying, keeping and discharging the goods (TCC art. 1178).
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- The carrier is liable for loss, damage and delay while the goods are in its charge, and must show the care of a diligent carrier (TCC art. 1178).
- Fault is presumed: it is the carrier that proves the absence of fault (TCC art. 1179).
- Liability is limited to 666.67 SDR per package or 2 SDR per kilogram, whichever is higher (TCC art. 1186).
- One year to sue, from delivery — a limit that extinguishes the right, not just the action (TCC art. 1188).
A cargo claim in Türkiye is a claim against the carrier for goods lost, damaged or delivered late under a contract of carriage by sea — usually a bill of lading — and, from the carrier's side, a claim for freight, demurrage and the right to hold the goods until they are paid. The Turkish Commercial Code sets the carrier's duties, its defences, its limits and a one-year time bar; the rules follow the Hague-Visby pattern, so a foreign cargo interest will recognise most of them.
The carrier is liable for loss of or damage to the goods, and for delay, occurring while the goods are in its charge (TCC art. 1178). That period runs:
- from the moment it takes them over from the shipper, or from an authority to which they had to be delivered at the loading port;
- until delivery to the consignee, or until the goods are placed at the consignee's disposal where the consignee fails to take them, or until they are handed to an authority at the discharge port where the law so requires.
In performing the contract the carrier must show the care of a diligent carrier in loading, stowing, handling, carrying, keeping and discharging the goods (TCC art. 1178). Goods not delivered within sixty days of the time for delivery may be treated as lost (TCC art. 1178).
The carrier's liability, defences and limits
- Where the loss is likely to have come from one of them, it is presumed to have done so, though the presumption can be rebutted and the carrier cannot rely on it if its own fault brought the peril about (TCC art. 1182).
- The limits apply unless the nature and value of the goods were declared by the shipper before loading and entered in the transport document (TCC art. 1186).
- The bill of lading evidences the contract, acknowledges receipt or shipment of the goods, and obliges the carrier to deliver only against its surrender (TCC art. 1228).
Read the full section
Fault, and who proves it
The carrier is not liable for loss caused without the fault of itself or of its servants — the crew, its employees and anyone it uses to perform the contract — but it is the carrier that must prove the absence of fault (TCC art. 1179).
Where the loss results from an act in the navigation or the technical management of the vessel, or from fire, the carrier answers only for its own fault.TCC art. 1180 — measures taken mainly in the interest of the cargo are not technical management, and in doubt the loss is taken not to be the result of technical management
The excepted perils (TCC art. 1182):
- perils of the sea;
- war and public enemies;
- acts of authority and quarantine;
- court seizure;
- strikes;
- acts of the shipper or cargo owner;
- inherent vice and natural wastage;
- insufficient packing and insufficient marks.
Where the loss is likely to have come from one of them, it is presumed to have done so, though the presumption can be rebutted and the carrier cannot rely on it if its own fault brought the peril about (TCC art. 1182).
Deck cargo
The carrier may not carry goods on deck unless the shipper agreed, custom allows or the law requires; deck carriage without a statement in the transport document is for the carrier to prove and cannot be raised against a third-party holder in good faith, and unauthorised deck carriage makes the carrier liable for the resulting loss (TCC art. 1151).
Limits and their loss
| Loss | Limit | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Loss or damage | 666.67 SDR per package or unit, or 2 SDR per kilogram of gross weight, whichever is the higher; converted at the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye's rate on the day of payment | TCC art. 1186 |
| Container or pallet | Each package listed in the transport document counts separately; otherwise the container counts as one unit | TCC art. 1186 |
| Delay | Two and a half times the freight on the delayed goods; the total may not exceed the limit for total loss | TCC art. 1186 |
| Limit lost | Where the loss or delay was caused by the carrier's own act or omission done with intent or recklessly and with knowledge that such loss would probably result | TCC art. 1187 |
The limits apply unless the nature and value of the goods were declared by the shipper before loading and entered in the transport document (TCC art. 1186). The same defences and limits apply whether the claim is framed in contract or in tort, and to the carrier's servants acting within their duties (TCC art. 1190). Where the carriage is performed by an actual carrier, the contracting carrier remains liable for the whole carriage and the two are jointly and severally liable for the same loss (TCC art. 1191).
Bills of lading
The bill of lading evidences the contract, acknowledges receipt or shipment of the goods, and obliges the carrier to deliver only against its surrender (TCC art. 1228). The person who signs it as carrier, or on whose behalf it is signed, is the carrier; where the carrier is not named or cannot be identified, the shipowner is treated as the carrier (TCC art. 1238).
- Delivery without a bill of lading. Under an order bill the master may deliver or return the goods only against all originals, and a carrier that delivers otherwise remains liable to the lawful holder (TCC art. 1232) — the classic claim.
- Freight and the consignee. A bill of lading that carries no clause making the consignee liable for freight or loading-port demurrage is presumed to free the consignee from them, and that presumption cannot be rebutted against a third-party holder (TCC art. 1240).
Freight, demurrage and the carrier's lien
- The carrier's side of the same contract: freight, demurrage and the right to hold the goods.
Read the full section
The carrier's side of the same contract: freight, demurrage and the right to hold the goods.
Laytime and demurrage
- sürastaryademurrage time — TCC arts 1154, 1170
- Where the contract provides, the carrier must wait beyond the loading or discharging time; the extra period begins when laytime ends without any notice, and is ten days where the contract mentions demurrage without fixing the period.
- Rate. Demurrage is payable at the contractual rate, and where no rate was agreed the carrier recovers the necessary and useful expenses of the extra waiting (TCC arts 1155, 1171).
- Who pays. At both ends the demurrage is owed by the charterer — the carrier's contracting party — and at the loading port the carrier need not sail until it is paid or secured (TCC arts 1155, 1171).
- Consignee does not collect. If the consignee fails to take delivery within the laytime and the agreed demurrage time, the carrier may exercise its statutory remedies after notice and may claim all its loss for delay beyond the demurrage time (TCC art. 1174).
The carrier's lien on the goods
For every claim under the contract of carriage the carrier has a right of retention over the goods under the Civil Code's rules on liens, for as long as it has possession of them; even after delivery the right can still be exercised within thirty days by application to the court, provided the goods are still in the consignee's possession (TCC art. 1201).
The lien secures only claims from the voyage on which the goods were carried and may be exercised only over goods sufficient to cover the claim — except for general average and salvage claims, for which the whole cargo may be held (TCC art. 1201).
Notice and time bar
- Every claim for compensation against the carrier for loss, damage or late delivery is extinguished unless proceedings are brought within one year, running from delivery or, where the goods were not delivered, from the date they should have been delivered (TCC art. 1188).
- The period may be extended by agreement made after the cause of action arose (TCC art. 1188).
- A cargo claim is a maritime claim (TCC art. 1352): where the carrying vessel, or a sister ship, is in a Turkish port, the claim can be secured by arrest before the year runs.
Read the full section
Every claim for compensation against the carrier for loss, damage or late delivery is extinguished unless proceedings are brought within one year, running from delivery or, where the goods were not delivered, from the date they should have been delivered (TCC art. 1188). This is a limitation that extinguishes the right, not merely the action.
| Claim | Period | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Loss, damage, late delivery | One year from delivery, or from the date the goods should have been delivered; extinguishes the right | TCC art. 1188 |
| Recourse by a person held liable | May be brought after the year, but within ninety days of paying or of being served with the claim | TCC art. 1188 |
| Delay — notice | Written notice within sixty days of delivery, in addition to the time bar | TCC art. 1185 |
| Freight, hire, demurrage and other claims under carriage contracts, charter parties and bills of lading | One year after they fall due | TCC art. 1246 |
The period may be extended by agreement made after the cause of action arose (TCC art. 1188).
A cargo claim is a maritime claim (TCC art. 1352): where the carrying vessel, or a sister ship, is in a Turkish port, the claim can be secured by arrest before the year runs. See the ship arrest page.
- Discharge and deliveryTCC art. 1178
Written notice: on delivery, or within three days if the damage was not apparent; surveyTCC art. 1185
Quantify: package or kilogram limit, whichever is higherTCC art. 1186- One year to sue — the right itself is lostTCC art. 1188
Meanwhile: arrest the carrying vessel or a sister ship to secureTCC arts 1352, 1369
Delay claims need written notice within sixty days; freight and demurrage claims are barred one year after falling due (TCC arts 1185, 1246).
Documents we need from you
- Bill of lading (all originals if you hold them) or sea waybill
- Commercial invoice, packing list and any cargo manifest
- Survey report, photographs and the written notice of loss or damage given at delivery
- Delivery receipts, outturn reports and weighing or tally records
- Charter party, where the claim is between owner and charterer
- Vessel name, IMO number and, if she is in a Turkish port, her berth
- Power of attorney in the form Turkish courts accept — we send the template
Common questions
How long do I have to bring a cargo claim?
One year from delivery, or from the date delivery was due, and the right itself is lost if no proceedings are brought in time (TCC art. 1188). Written notice of loss or damage must be given at delivery, or within three days if the damage was not apparent (TCC art. 1185). Freight, hire and demurrage claims are time-barred one year after they fall due (TCC art. 1246).
What is the carrier's liability limit?
666.67 SDR per package or unit or 2 SDR per kilogram of gross weight, whichever is higher, unless the goods' nature and value were declared before loading and entered in the transport document (TCC art. 1186). The limit is lost where the carrier caused the loss intentionally or recklessly with knowledge that it would probably result (TCC art. 1187).
The goods were delivered to someone without the bill of lading. Who is liable?
The carrier. The bill of lading obliges the carrier to deliver only against its surrender (TCC art. 1228); under an order bill delivery or return of the goods may be made only against all originals, and a carrier that delivers otherwise remains liable to the lawful holder (TCC art. 1232).
Can the carrier hold my cargo for unpaid freight?
Yes, for every claim under the contract of carriage, while the goods are in its possession, and for thirty days after delivery by application to the court if the goods are still with the consignee (TCC art. 1201). A consignee is not liable for freight or loading-port demurrage unless the bill of lading says so (TCC art. 1240).
Ports where we attend
Where the vessel is decides the court, the enforcement office and the timing. Istanbul directly; other ports through correspondent counsel.