Turkey Inspects 3,115 Foreign-Flagged Vessels in 2025

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated, 'We conducted unscheduled inspections on 583 Turkish-flagged ships last year to raise standards.'

Uraloğlu made a written statement regarding the inspection activities carried out by the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs.

He conveyed that the ship inspection mechanisms they implemented play a decisive role not only in ensuring the safety of life, property, and navigation at sea but also in protecting the marine environment. He reported that through inspections, the technical and operational standards of both foreign and Turkish ships have been elevated, positioning Turkey among flag states with high-standard vessels.

Uraloğlu pointed out that inspections conducted under the Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and other memoranda provide significant conveniences for above-standard ships in terms of maritime trade, recalling that Turkish ships have been listed among the highest-performing vessels of the Paris MoU since 2008. Emphasizing that the Turkish flag has maintained its strong position in the 'White List' of the Paris MoU this year, Uraloğlu stated, 'In 2025, 215 Turkish-flagged ships were inspected in Paris MoU countries, many of which are European Union member states. While 5 ships were detained, the detention rate was recorded at 2.32%. This rate is nearly half of the overall average of 4.03% for the Paris MoU.'

In this context, we have gone through a very successful inspection period. In the annual report of the Paris MoU, which will also evaluate the performances of 2025, we expect our Turkish flag to be ranked even higher.

'Turkey is a global power in maritime trade'

Highlighting that they continuously improve risk-based inspection capacity to raise safety levels at sea, Uraloğlu noted that the pre-survey applications conducted by port authorities on Turkish-flagged ships have made significant contributions to this process. He informed that they conducted pre-survey inspections on 960 Turkish-flagged ships operating internationally in 2025, emphasizing that Turkey is a global power in maritime trade and that they will continue to support the Turkish fleet, one of the important elements of this power, wherever it may be in the world.

Uraloğlu pointed out that Turkey is not only a flag state but also one of the strongest port states in the region due to its cargo and port capacity, and continued: 'As part of the planning and memoranda we are involved in, we conducted port state inspections on a total of 3,115 foreign-flagged ships that called at our ports in 2025. Due to identified deficiencies, 486 of these ships were detained by our inspection experts with onboard experience, preventing them from sailing. These figures have positioned us as the country that conducts the most ship inspections in our region.'

We also conducted unscheduled inspections on 583 Turkish-flagged ships last year to raise standards for both international and national voyages.

'We will continue inspections with determination'

Uraloğlu emphasized that they will continue to work on new strategies and investments to increase Turkey's welfare level by implementing a new software system and a ship inspection risk assessment module for inspections this year, while ensuring maritime safety and maximizing gains from the maritime sector.

Recalling that intensified port state inspections targeting risk-prone ships have been included within the scope of the Port State Control Implementation Regulation by establishing a legislative infrastructure, Uraloğlu noted: 'In 2025, 42.7% of the inspections conducted under the Mediterranean MoU and 11.1% of the inspections carried out under the Black Sea MoU were performed at our country’s ports on these ships. In 2025, the detention rate under the Mediterranean MoU was 7.3%, while it was 14.3% in Turkey; under the Black Sea MoU, it was 6.7%, while it was 21.3% in Turkey. With this application, we aim to prevent substandard ships from jeopardizing navigation, safety of life, property, and environmental safety in our seas. We will continue inspections with determination.'

Uraloğlu also mentioned that starting from 2024, authorized classification societies will continue to conduct condition assessment inspections on bulk carriers operating nationally, while inspections on passenger and vehicle-carrying ships will be carried out through port authorities starting from the last quarter of 2025, stating that Turkish shipping is growing stronger and that all measures to increase safety standards at sea will continue to be implemented with determination.

Source: SeaNews Türkiye