Introduction The Regulation on the Environmental Management of Shipyards, Boat Building Yards and Haul-Out Facilities (the “Regulation”), published in the Official Gazette dated 7 December 2022 and numbered 32036, establishes a specific environmental management regime aimed at preventing pollutants arising from construction, modification, maintenance and repair activities carried out at shipyards, boat building yards and haul-out facilities operating in coastal areas from reaching the marine environment. The Regulation imposes obligations on facility operators in relation to environmental infrastructure, cleaner production, waste management, ballast sediment, monitoring, record-keeping and reporting.
1. Obligation to Prevent Environmental Impacts Facility operators are required to establish the necessary infrastructure, determine the relevant technical and administrative measures, establish practicable procedures and ensure their effective implementation in order to prevent, mitigate or eliminate any adverse environmental impacts that may arise from their activities.
In this context, it is not sufficient for a facility merely to respond to pollution after it has occurred. Collection, filtration, storage, drainage and control systems designed to prevent pollution from occurring must be installed before operations commence. The fundamental approach adopted by the Regulation is the prevention of pollution at source.
2. Abrasive Blasting, Painting and Surface Preparation Activities It is prohibited to carry out abrasive blasting, painting, sanding, cutting and assembly operations over the sea surface without taking the necessary environmental precautions. Surface preparation, abrasive blasting and painting activities must, as a rule, be carried out in enclosed and impermeable areas.
Where it is not possible to carry out the operations entirely within an enclosed area, the section in which the work is performed must be enclosed with tarpaulins or similar materials in a manner that prevents pollutants from dispersing into the environment, or an appropriate wet blasting, dust collection or dust suppression system must be used. Under adverse weather conditions affecting environmental control, work may not continue unless measures are taken to prevent waste from reaching the sea.
Solid, liquid and dust waste generated during abrasive blasting and surface preparation must be prevented from escaping beyond the impermeable surface or reaching the marine environment, and the work area must be cleaned regularly.
3. Waste and Wastewater Management All wastewater generated within the facility site must be collected, and it is prohibited to discharge wastewater into the sea or any other receiving environment without treatment. The drainage systems of dry docks, floating docks and the facility site must be designed to allow process water and rainwater to be collected separately.
Surface-washing wastewater and contaminated rainwater may not be discharged into the sea without first passing through oil and particulate retention systems. Collection chambers must be installed in dry docks or floating docks accommodating vessels in order to prevent waste from flowing into the sea.
Paint residues, used abrasives, cloths, sludge, waste oils and similar waste generated as a result of the activities must: • be collected according to their respective types; • be labelled; • be stored in authorised temporary storage areas; • be transported in accordance with the applicable legislation; and • be sent to environmentally licensed recovery or disposal facilities. Facilities are also required to implement measures aimed at preventing and reducing waste generation in accordance with the Waste Management Regulation and the Zero Waste Regulation.
4. Obligations Relating to Vessels Arriving for Maintenance and Repair Maintenance or repair operations may not commence on vessels arriving at the facility for maintenance or repair purposes until it has been established that the ship-generated waste present in the area where the work will be carried out has been received in accordance with the applicable legislation.
Accordingly, upon the vessel’s admission to the facility, the waste must be inspected, the waste delivery procedures must be documented, and the maintenance and repair process may commence only after the necessary waste management procedures have been completed. Cooling water used on vessels must also be prevented from coming into contact with paint, abrasive materials and other pollutants.
5. Record-Keeping Obligation A docking operations tracking system must be established for operations carried out in dry docks and floating docks, covering the period from the docking of the vessel until the dock has been cleaned and the vessel has been refloated. This system must include: • the vessel’s identification details; • the operations to be performed on the vessel; • the materials and chemicals to be used; • the commencement and completion times of the construction, modification or maintenance and repair works; and • information and images relating to the cleaning works carried out prior to refloating. These records must be retained for a period of ten years and submitted to the Ministry, the Provincial Directorate or authorised institutions upon request.
6. Obligations Relating to Ballast Sediment Facility operators providing services to vessels exceeding 400 gross tonnage (GT) are required to establish, either individually or jointly with other facilities located in the same region, a sediment reception facility with sufficient capacity and technical equipment to receive sediment originating from the ballast water of vessels arriving for maintenance and repair.
The required temporary activity certificate and environmental licence must be obtained for such facilities. Sediment must be received without causing undue delay to vessels and must be managed in a manner that does not harm the environment or human health. Facility operators are also required to: • submit the sediment reception facility project report to the Ministry; • obtain an approval certificate for the facility; • submit the sediment management plan to the Ministry every five years; • submit an activity report during the first month of each year; • obtain the Ministry’s approval for any amendments to the sediment reception facility or the sediment management plan; and • ensure that sediment is disposed of in accordance with the applicable legislation. Only personnel who have received the required training may be assigned to sediment reception operations.
Where the metropolitan municipality provides sediment reception services, facilities that enter into an agreement with the municipality may be exempted from the obligation to establish their own sediment reception facility. However, responsibility for ensuring that the sediment is delivered and managed in accordance with the applicable legislation remains in force.
7. Obligation to Monitor and Report on the Marine Environment Facilities are required to establish the technical infrastructure necessary to determine their impacts on the marine environment, have the relevant measurements and analyses carried out, report the results and maintain the relevant records.
Annual monitoring studies must be conducted in respect of seawater, marine sediment and biota within the parameters specified in the Regulation, and the results must be submitted to the relevant Provincial Directorate. Sampling and analysis activities must be carried out by laboratories authorised by the Ministry or, where necessary, by accredited laboratories.
Each facility is also required to prepare a facility monitoring report describing its activities, the materials and equipment used, the environmental measures taken, the cleaner production techniques implemented and its waste management practices. The marine monitoring report must be submitted to the relevant Provincial Directorate within one month from the date on which the measurement and analysis activities are carried out.
The facility monitoring report and the marine monitoring report must be prepared by an environmental management unit or an environmental consultancy firm authorised under the Regulation on Environmental Management Services.
8. Other Environmental Obligations Facilities are required to be prepared for any marine pollution that may occur during their activities and to establish the necessary response systems. In this context, the planning, equipment and response obligations prescribed under Law No. 5312 and the relevant emergency response legislation must be complied with.
Where soil contamination is suspected or the circumstances specified in the relevant legislation exist, the required notifications must be submitted through the Contaminated Sites Information System. Facilities must also develop practices aimed at reducing energy and water consumption, ensuring the efficient use of machinery and giving preference to renewable energy sources.
The Regulation further requires tugboats and similar marine craft used at the facility to be converted to electric propulsion within five years from 7 December 2022, the date on which the Regulation entered into force.
9. Administrative Sanctions The Regulation does not prescribe a separate and fixed monetary fine for each violation. In the event of non-compliance with the provisions of the Regulation, the sanctions prescribed under the relevant environmental legislation, primarily Environmental Law No. 2872, apply depending on the nature of the act.
Administrative fines are increased annually at the revaluation rate, and the amounts applicable in 2026 were determined under the Communiqué on Administrative Fines to Be Imposed Pursuant to Environmental Law No. 2872 (2026/1). The amount of the penalty ultimately imposed may vary depending on the type of violation, whether the offender is a natural or legal person, the recurrence of the act and the area in which the facility is located.
10. Criminal Liability Non-compliance with environmental legislation may give rise to criminal liability in addition to administrative sanctions. Under Article 181 of the Turkish Penal Code, intentionally discharging waste or residues into the soil, water or air in breach of the technical procedures prescribed under the relevant legislation and in a manner harmful to the environment constitutes the offence of intentional pollution of the environment. The basic form of the offence is punishable by imprisonment for a term of six months to two years.
Where the act is committed negligently, the offence of negligent pollution of the environment under Article 182 of the Turkish Penal Code may arise. For example, failure to inspect drainage systems, contaminated water becoming mixed with the stormwater line or abrasive blasting being carried out without the installation of the necessary protective systems may, depending on the circumstances of the particular case, be regarded as a breach of the duty of care and diligence.
Criminal liability is personal. The liability of company directors, environmental officers or site managers is determined not solely on the basis of their job titles, but by taking into account their duties, authority, knowledge and fault in the particular case.
Conclusion Under the Regulation, the primary responsibility of operators of shipyards, boat building yards and haul-out facilities is to prevent pollutants arising from their activities from reaching the sea or other receiving environments. Accordingly, facility operators are expected to establish appropriate technical infrastructure, implement cleaner production methods, control waste and wastewater, manage ballast sediment in accordance with the applicable legislation, and carry out regular monitoring and reporting.
The transitional period applicable to existing facilities in respect of cleaner production and ballast sediment expired on 1 January 2025. Accordingly, these obligations currently apply to existing facilities as well.
The obligations prescribed under the Regulation are centred on establishing preventive infrastructure, preventing uncontrolled operations over the sea, collecting wastewater, reducing waste and implementing cleaner production techniques.