Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Sea and Cargo Securing Published

As is known, the Regulation on the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Sea and on Cargo Securing (“Regulation”), prepared by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (“Ministry”) and published in the Official Gazette dated 14.11.2021 and numbered 31659, was enacted with the aim of ensuring that the carriage of dangerous goods by sea is carried out in a safe, economical, fast, high-quality, environmentally sustainable manner and in harmony with other transport activities, as well as ensuring the safety of cargo securing for goods transported by sea.

By amending certain provisions of the Regulation, the Ministry has prepared the Regulation Amending the Regulation on the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Sea and on Cargo Securing (“Amending Regulation”), which introduces rules and procedures regarding the carriage of dangerous goods by sea, cargo handling activities at port facilities, reporting processes, verified gross mass determination of full containers, and administrative fines.

The Amending Regulation was published in the Official Gazette dated 24.09.2025 and numbered 33027 and entered into force on the same date.

The amendments introduced under the Amending Regulation are summarized below for your information.

Amendment Regarding the Port Facility Dangerous Goods Compliance Certificate

Under the Amending Regulation, the rules on fees and scope regarding the Port Facility Dangerous Goods Compliance Certificate (“TYUB”), which is a mandatory compliance certificate issued by the Directorate General of Maritime Affairs (“Authority”) for port facilities engaged in the handling of dangerous goods in packaged or bulk form, have been revised.

Within this framework:

- Where a port facility wishes to add a new area to its existing handling area without introducing a new type of activity, only an inspection fee will be charged and the relevant area will be incorporated into the existing TYUB.

- Where limitations under the TYUB are amended, no renewal fee will be charged.

- Where a new type of dangerous goods is added to the operational scope of the facility, only the certificate fee corresponding to the additional type will be collected.

Amendment Regarding the Reporting Period of Dangerous Goods Safety Advisors

With the Amending Regulation, the reporting obligations of Dangerous Goods Safety Advisors (“TMGD”), authorized under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, have been revised.

Accordingly, TMGDs are now required to prepare reports regarding the responsibilities of port facilities as set forth under the Amending Regulation on a six-monthly basis, instead of the quarterly basis previously prescribed under the Regulation. These reports must be submitted to the Authority within the first ten business days of the month following the reporting period. In cases where deficiencies or inaccuracies are identified in the reports, the Authority or port masters will be authorized to carry out inspections at the relevant port facilities.

Regulation Regarding the Verified Gross Mass Certificate of Authorization

Under the Amending Regulation, if it is determined that the criteria required for obtaining the Verified Gross Mass Certificate of Authorization (“Certificate of Authorization”) are not met by the weighing instrument operator, the Certificate of Authorization will be suspended and will remain invalid until such criteria are fulfilled.

In the event that the Verified Gross Mass control fee is not paid on time, the relevant operator will be granted an additional 15-day period. If payment is not made within this period, the Certificate of Authorization will be suspended for up to one year; if payment is still not made by the end of the suspension period, the Certificate of Authorization will be cancelled. Where the declared Verified Gross Mass and the actual gross mass differ by more than 5% and such discrepancy occurs ten times within the same calendar year, the weighing instrument operator’s Certificate of Authorization will be suspended for 15 days.

Furthermore, under the Amending Regulation, the weighing instrument operator may request the cancellation of the Certificate of Authorization on its own initiative.

If no renewal application is submitted within six months following the expiry of the Certificate of Authorization, it will also be subject to cancellation.

The suspension or cancellation of the Certificate of Authorization does not preclude the imposition of administrative fines.

Regulation Regarding Inspection Periods

With the Amending Regulation, the inspection periods applicable to port facilities have been revised.

Accordingly, port authorities will now inspect whether port facilities continue to comply with the requirements of the TYUB at intervals not exceeding one year and will report the results of such inspections to the Administration. Under the Regulation, these inspections were previously required to be conducted every six months.

New Provisions Regarding Administrative Fines

Under the Amending Regulation, administrative fines to be imposed in case of non-compliance with Verified Gross Mass processes and obligations relating to the Certificate of Authorization have been revised.

Accordingly:

- In case of a discrepancy exceeding ±5% between the declared Verified Gross Mass and the actual gross mass, the relevant weighing instrument operator will be fined 25.419 TL;

- For each deficiency relating to the requirements of the Certificate of Authorization, a fine of 25.419 TL will be imposed;

- Failure to comply with the responsibilities under the Certificate of Authorization will result in a fine of 25.419 TL;

- Continuing Verified Gross Mass weighing operations despite the Certificate of Authorization being suspended or cancelled will result in a fine of 100.000 TL;

- Issuing a duplicate Verified Gross Mass Certificate for a container already holding one will result in a fine of 25.419 TL;

- Issuing a Verified Gross Mass Certificate without performing any weighing will result in a fine of 100.000 TL.

Effective Date

The provisions of the Amending Regulation, to be executed by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, entered into force on the date of its publication, 24.09.2025.