Regulation on the Amendment of the Ports Regulation dated 14.04.2023

The “Regulation on the Amendment of the Ports Regulation” was published by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey in the Duplicate Official Gazette dated 14.04.2023 and numbered 32163. The regulation in question updates the definition of dangerous cargo and the rules that ships carrying dangerous cargo must follow, in accordance with international agreements. The regulation also provides exemption from pilotage services for ro-ro ships operating on regular routes, increases the pilotage and tugboat exemption for bunker tankers from 1000 GT to 5000 GT, and allows other ships to be exempt from pilotage and/or tugboat services when deemed to be in the overriding public interest. Additionally, the regulation requires pilot captains to perform a draft survey before boarding the ship to provide services. It also imposes an obligation on ships anchoring in the administrative area of the port to pay mooring fees in accordance with the procedures and principles determined by the administration and makes provisions for administrative fines to increase safety in the shipping sector.