News: Turkey – misdeclaration of fuel and potential consequences

Members with ships trading in Turkey are advised of the recent increasing trend regarding sudden and unannounced inspections on ships by Turkish customs.

In particular, a number of incidents have been reported where custom officials have boarded ships for the purpose of checking the ship’s actual fuel quantity against the one declared on arrival.

A potential misdeclaration may be treated as an act of smuggling and could have criminal consequences.

It is understood that it could lead to:

• confiscation of the excess/undeclared fuel
• investigation for smuggling against the master and chief engineer
• arrest/imprisonment of the master and chief engineer during the ship’s next call in Turkey

It is understood that there is no risk against the shipowner or the ship itself.

Ships are advised to be extra cautious when measuring the fuel on board for declaration purposes, particularly when calling Turkish ports.

For further information, please refer to the alert - in the attachment on the right - prepared by Kalimbassieris Maritime AS, who the club thanks for the information.

Category: Loss Prevention