Maritime Liens: An Endless Torpedo for Foreign Flagged Vessels in Turkish Seas

Abstract

The Maritime Liens and Mortgages Convention of 1993 was incorporated into the Turkish Commercial Code that took effect on July 1, 2012. The intent of the Convention is to enhance ship financing. Consequently, maritime liens are subject to a one-year extinction period, and it is generally acknowledged that this period will be suspended only in situations where arrest or seizure of the vessel is not permitted by law. In a recent decision rendered by the Turkish courts, the time period during which the Turkish Courts lack jurisdiction to issue an arrest order for foreign flagged vessels is deemed as a situation where arrest or seizure of the vessel is not permitted by law. Therefore, the Court has accepted that the one-year extinction period shall not begin to run while the vessel is outside ofTurkish territorial waters. This study will present the rationale for the decision and then evaluate, particularly within the context of the preparatory work for the 1967 and 1993 MLM Conventions, the conditions for suspending the one-year period. © 2025 SPB Academic Publishing bv. All rights reserved.