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04 Feb, 2025

The Regulation Amending the Regulation on Authorized Organizations for Ships, prepared by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (hereinafter referred to as the “Ministry”), was published in the Official Gazette No. 32163 on April 14, 2023.

The Regulation came into force on the date of its publication, April 14, 2023. The execution of the Regulation is the responsibility of the Ministry. The amendments to the main regulation, the Regulation on Authorized Organizations for Ships (hereinafter referred to as “Same Regulation”), made by this Regulation, are as follows:

ARTICLE 2- With the amendment made to Article 7 of the Same Regulation, the Decision Committee will consist of at least four people, chaired by the relevant Deputy Minister, including the Director General of Maritime Affairs, the Director General of Legal Services, and the Director General of Shipyards and Coastal Structures. Thus, the committee chairman may invite additional members to the committee when necessary. The Decision Committee will meet with the participation of all members and decide by a simple majority of the members. If there is a tie in votes, the majority will be determined by the vote of the chairman. With this amendment, it has been regulated that the Secretariat services of the Decision Committee will be carried out by the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs.

ARTICLE 3- With the amendment made to the first paragraph of Article 10 of the Same Regulation, it has been specified that when a Turkish-flagged ship passes from one Authorized Organization to another, the following must be transferred from the old organization to the new authorized organization within 30 days: all expired surveys of the ship, recommendations made for the ship but not fulfilled by the shipowner or operator, class requirements, operational conditions, or published instructions that restrict the operation of the ship, the file showing the entire history of the ship, and all similar information. After the transfer is completed, this process must be immediately notified to the administration, and the transferred information must be provided to the administration upon request.

ARTICLE 4- With the addition to Article 11 of the Same Regulation, Authorized Organizations (YK) are required to prepare and submit a list of the documents subject to fees, as stipulated by the Law on Fees No. 492 dated 2/7/1964, to the Administration on a monthly basis.

ARTICLE 5- The first paragraph (a) of Article 12 of the Regulation has been amended as follows:

“a) All correspondence related to the tasks and procedures determined by this Regulation and the authorization protocol must be made with the Administration. It is mandatory for Authorized Organizations to use Registered Electronic Mail (KEP) in these correspondences.”

  • The (d) clause of the same paragraph has been repealed.

ARTICLE 6- With the amendment to Article 15, the Ministry may request off-schedule inspections and reports/documents from the Authorized Organizations for Turkish-flagged ships or companies operating ships for which they have issued certificates under the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, and the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC), if the ship is detained during a port state/flag state inspection or if a decrease in the performance of the ship or the company operating the ship is detected.

ARTICLE 7- The first paragraph of Article 17 of the Same Regulation has been amended from:

“At least one project is prepared every three years with the Administration or by the Authorized Organization.”

To:

“The Administration may request the Authorized Organizations to prepare projects independently, among themselves, or with the Administration, or to participate in the projects prepared.”

ARTICLE 8- With the addition to Article 18, the Ministry may require Authorized Organizations to participate as trainers or to prepare training materials on specific topics for experts from flag or port states during the training sessions organized by the Ministry.

ARTICLE 9- The third and fourth paragraphs of Article 19 have been amended as follows, with additional clauses added to the article:

“(3) The authority to exempt from national rules and international agreements is solely vested in the Administration. In cases where exemptions are granted indefinitely, there is no need to request exemption again due to changes in the Authorized Organization. However, the Authorized Organization must inform the Administration in all cases.”

(4) Authorized Organizations/Specialized Surveying Companies (SYK) must report to the Administration regarding their evaluations, recommendations, additional measures to be taken, and conditions for granting exemptions or equivalencies in their applications regarding exemptions or equivalencies.

(5) Exemption or equivalency requests for newly constructed ships or ships undergoing modifications as per the relevant legislation must be made at the time of applying for construction or modification permits.

ARTICLE 10- With the amendment to Article 20, it is expected that certificates issued by Limited and Authorized Organizations on behalf of the Ministry must comply with the international agreements to which the Administration is a party.

ARTICLE 11- With the amendment to the second paragraph of Article 21, it has been stated that the regional office will consist of at least four competent surveyors, with one surveyor assigned to each section where the manager is a Turkish citizen.

Additionally, the following paragraphs have been added to this article:

“(2) The regional office consists of at least four competent surveyors, with one surveyor assigned to each section where the manager is a Turkish citizen.”

“(4) Authorized Organizations not based in Turkey must assign at least one surveyor who has the necessary authority in their Plan Approval Section.”

(5) Authorized Organization personnel can work in multiple sections, provided they are authorized for each section.”

The phrase “Newly established in Turkey;” in the (a) clause of the third paragraph of the same article has been changed to “New”.

ARTICLE 12- With the amendment to Article 25, the Regulation has been clarified that in addition to the bi-annual inspections conducted by the Technical Control Board (ITDK) of the activities of the Authorized Organizations, the inspections may also be conducted at their central offices if deemed necessary.

ARTICLE 13- The heading of Article 26 of the Same Regulation has been changed to:

“Limiting or suspending authorities and administrative fines”

The first paragraph (a) clause of the same article has been amended.

  • With the amendment to clause (a) of Article 26, it has been included that the performance of the Authorized Organizations in the flag or port state, identified deficiencies, or serious faults in accidents involving the Authorized Organizations may lead to written warnings.

The word “and” in the third paragraph has been changed to “or,” and additional paragraphs have been added to this article:

“(5) If the Authorized Organization fails to comply with the notifications in paragraphs four and five of Article 19, an administrative fine of 25,000 TL to 150,000 TL will be imposed. If the same violation is repeated within a year of the penalty being imposed, the fines will be doubled.”

(6) The penalty amounts specified in this article will be increased annually based on the revaluation rate published according to Article 4/1/1961 of the Tax Procedure Law No. 213.”

(7) Authorized Organizations cannot charge fees for inspections they are required to conduct due to deficiencies related to their certifications during Port State Control inspections.

With the addition of new paragraphs to Article 26, if the provisions of Articles 19, paragraphs four and five, are not followed, the Administration will impose administrative fines ranging from 25,000 TL to 150,000 TL on the Authorized Organization, and the fines will be doubled if the same violation is repeated within a year. The penalty amounts will be increased annually based on the revaluation rate according to the Tax Procedure Law No. 213. Authorized Organizations cannot charge fees for inspections required due to deficiencies during Port State Control inspections.

ARTICLE 14- The first clause (d) of Article 27 and the third paragraph of the same article have been repealed.

ARTICLE 15- The temporary provisions 1 and 2 of the Same Regulation have been repealed.

ARTICLE 16- The last sentence of the first paragraph of the temporary Article 3 has been amended.

  • With the amendment to the first paragraph of the temporary third article, it is expected that Authorized Organizations will complete the additional requirements requested by the Administration for passenger ships without class certificates.
  • The second paragraph of the same article has been repealed.

ARTICLE 17- A new temporary article has been added to the Same Regulation.

  • This temporary article states that until the application of the Limited Authorized Organization comes into force, the survey and certification procedures for national route ships registered with Authorized Organizations can be conducted by the Administration upon the request of the owner/operator.

With the amendment to the regulation, the second paragraph of Temporary Article 3, which stated that “passenger ships operating on routes to islands in the Aegean Sea will be required to have a class certificate issued by Authorized Organizations within three years from the effective date of this article,” has been repealed. Therefore, Turkish-flagged passenger ships operating on routes to islands in the Aegean Sea with a Seaworthiness Certificate issued before March 24, 2023, will not be required to have a class certificate.

You can access the related Regulation from the following link:

https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2023/04/20230414-12.htm

For more detailed information on this subject, you can contact us anytime via the contact numbers below.

Esenyel Partners | Regulation Amending the Regulation on Authorized Organizations for Ships and the Amendments It Introduces
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