MEMBER ALERT Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc., Manager One Battery Park Plaza 31 st Fl., New York, NY 10004 USA Tel: +1 212 847 4500 Fax: +1 212 847 4599 www.american-club.com American Club Member Alert – February 05 , 2016 1 FEBRUARY 5, 2016 ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION FINES IN TURKEY Your Managers have been advised of a new, 2016 pollution fine tariff for Turkey. Pollution incidents taking place between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016 will attract fines calculated as follows: 1) Po lluti on fr om p etroleum tankers and those carrying deriv ati ves (raw pe troleum, fuel oil, b ilge, oil mud, refined prod uct s, oi l waste etc .) Up to 1,000 (inclusive) gt 81.78 TRY /per gt Between 1,000 and 5,000 (inclusive) gt Additional 20.40 TRY /per gt Over 5,000 gt Additional 1.96 TRY /per gt 2) Dirt y b allast discharged t o sea by tank ers Up to 1,000 (inclusive) gt 61.32 TRY /per gt Between 1,000 and 5,000 (inclusive) gt Additional 12.23 TRY /per gt Ov er 5,0 00 gt Ad dition al 1 .96 T RY /pe r gt 3) Po lluti on from shi ps and other sea vessel s that release petroleum derivatives (b ilge, oi l mud, fr eigh t mud , fue l o il, oi l waste or dirty ballast) Up to 1 ,000 (i nclusiv e) gt 40. 87 T RY /pe r gt Betwee n 1, 000 and 5, 000 (i nclusiv e) gt Ad dition al 8.14 T RY /pe r gt Ov er 5,0 00 gt Ad dition al 1 .96 T RY /pe r gt 4) Garbage and sewage discharged t o s ea by vessels or any other sea vehicles Up to 1 ,000 (i nclusiv e) gt 20. 40 T RY /pe r gt Betwee n 1, 000 and 5, 000 (i nclusiv e) gt Ad dition al 4.03 T RY /pe r gt Ov er 5,0 00 gt Ad dition al 0 .77 T RY /pe r gt If the polluting vessel discharges any hazardous substances or waste into the sea, the fine will be calculated at 10 times the published rate for the category of oil or petroleum derivatives fines. Should a ship repeat the pollution offense within three years, the fine amount for the second offense will be doubled, and fines imposed for each subsequent offense will again be doubled. MEMBER ALERT Shipowners Claims Bureau, Inc., Manager One Battery Park Plaza 31 st Fl., New York, NY 10004 USA Tel: +1 212 847 4500 Fax: +1 212 847 4599 www.american-club.com American Club Member Alert – February 05 , 2016 2 The violation of environmental pollution laws and regulations in Turkey carries significant fines . Violations are, moreover, very difficult to challenge as the authorities do not need to substantiate their allegations, thereby placing the burden of proving innocence on the vessel owner or operator. Und er t he relevant code, the Turkish environmental authorities are entitled t o ask for cash settlement of t he fi ne and gen era lly will not acc ept an y form of sec urit y to release a ship. On an exceptional basis, the authorities m ay accept a bankers’ draft and/or payment on guarantees issued by t he shi p’s age nts and payable withi n a max imum of 1 to 2 days, and witho ut any condition s. In some cas es, t he a utho riti es have agreed to release v ess els against a letter of undertaking issue d by a P&I club or in surance company recognized by the Turki sh gov ernment. However, the authorities’ demand for the original letter of undertaking with its n otari zed official transl ati on has led to considerable delays to vessels in some cases. The pol lution fine amount may be reduced by 25% if settled immediately, something which will also allow a vessel to sail. Remit ting t he fi ne amount will not be considered as an admission of lia bility and an appeal may still be