THE EYB COUNTRY GUIDES · Turkey
Prepare a clear condition record, sale inventory and document file before arranging inspections and completion in Turkey.
Preparing a boat sale Turkey involves more than presenting a clean deck. The seller needs a description that matches the boat, a condition record that identifies known issues and a document file suited to the actual transfer route. The buyer can then inspect the boat and negotiate from a clear account of what is included. Turkish sale rules address stated qualities and defects, while the vessel-transfer provisions explain why the seller should identify the register before promising that a dossier is complete.
This guide is for owners preparing a private boat for sale and for buyers reviewing that preparation. It combines verified official provisions with clearly identified brokerage recommendations. It covers condition, inventory, paperwork and handover without inventing repair budgets, standard marketing periods or local administration deadlines. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Key facts at a glance
Article 219 makes the seller responsible for the absence of qualities communicated to the buyer.
Presidency legislation database – Turkish Code of Obligations, updated 4 Feb 2011 ·Article 219 addresses material, legal and economic defects affecting value or the buyer's expected benefit, even where the seller did not know of them.
Presidency legislation database – Turkish Code of Obligations, updated 4 Feb 2011 ·Article 1002 provides that the acquirer of a registered vessel obtains seller-owned accessories existing at acquisition unless otherwise agreed.
Presidency legislation database – Turkish Commercial Code, updated 14 Feb 2011 ·Article 225 prevents a seller who is grossly at fault from avoiding responsibility by relying on late defect notification.
Presidency legislation database – Turkish Code of Obligations, updated 4 Feb 2011 ·Article 210 requires the seller to transfer possession to the buyer for the purpose of transferring ownership.
Presidency legislation database – Turkish Code of Obligations, updated 4 Feb 2011 ·Section 1
Our recommendation is to reconcile the advertised specification with the actual boat and supporting records before arranging viewings. Identify the engine, installed systems, equipment and work completed, and distinguish documentary evidence from the owner's recollection. The Code of Obligations makes the qualities communicated to the buyer relevant to seller responsibility. Remove claims that cannot be supported and explain unresolved issues clearly. Good presentation helps a buyer inspect the vessel, but it should not hide a condition question that needs a surveyor's examination or the seller's written response.
The seller's lack of knowledge does not eliminate the defect responsibility described in the code. Our recommendation is to organise maintenance evidence and known fault reports before preparing the condition statement, then let a competent technician address specific uncertainties. Keep a proposed repair distinct from a completed repair. If a system has not been tested during preparation, record that fact in the practical inspection plan rather than describing it as verified. This guide does not create a statutory pre-sale maintenance programme or require every seller to commission a survey.
The provisions also distinguish what the buyer knows and what an adequate examination could reveal. Our recommendation is to make disclosure usable: record the actual issue, the supporting report and any proposed treatment in one condition schedule. A vague statement that the boat is sold as seen does not explain which problem was disclosed. Give the buyer access to the relevant records and ask the locally qualified lawyer to review the final disclosure wording alongside the sale agreement and the actual inspection circumstances.
Broker tip: Our recommendation is to prepare a dated condition note before advertising. Keep completed work, known defects and items awaiting inspection distinct, and retain the evidence supporting the description offered to prospective buyers. Readers often go on to our guide on boat valuation in Turkey.
Boat on a marina berth being prepared for sale.
Description responsibility
Section 2
Our recommendation is to decide what stays with the boat before photographs and viewings create an expectation about equipment. Identify the items included, items excluded and items owned by another person. The Commercial Code addresses accessories in a registered-vessel transfer, subject to the agreement. Make the practical inventory consistent with the actual title position and ask the lawyer to review any disputed item. The list should describe the equipment delivered, rather than simply copying every object visible aboard when the advertisement was photographed.
Safety equipment should be reviewed against the current private craft annex before handover or a delivery voyage. Our recommendation is to compare the boat category, arrangement and intended crew with the list and record missing equipment. Do not mix the basic list with the additional longer-boat provisions or with items published as recommended. This is preparation guidance, not a survey certification. Ask the responsible authority or competent inspector to address individual applicability questions, especially where the boat has a commercial role or a foreign registration.
The basic annex identifies flotation, fire and medical equipment, with conditions linked to the people aboard and the boat layout. Our recommendation is to inspect the actual items and retain readable label photographs, location notes and any replacement quotation. Agree whether the seller will replace missing supplies or the buyer will do so after completion. Keep that commercial choice clear in the inventory and handover plan. Neither the equipment list nor this guide supplies an official retail budget for preparing a particular vessel for sale.
Broker tip: Our recommendation is to match the final inventory to the equipment aboard at handover. Identify exclusions and third-party items early, and keep safety equipment deficiencies alongside the replacement work the parties have agreed. Our guide on what it costs to sell a boat in Turkey covers a related point.
Tablet showing a boat valuation beside a model yacht.
Seller-owned accessories
Selling a boat in Turkey and want help with the plan? Speak to one of our brokers.
Section 3
Our recommendation is to identify the vessel's current register and obtain the relevant office's requirements before describing the paperwork as complete. The Commercial Code distinguishes ship-register transfers from Turkish vessels outside that register. That distinction affects how the lawyer and authority review the sale. Organise the ownership evidence, vessel identity and signing authority so the route can be identified from the actual documents. Do not treat the boat's marina location or an old purchase invoice as a complete answer about the present transfer requirements.
For a binding-register sale, the published Fethiye instructions demonstrate preparation of the online application and the buyer and seller details. They identify representatives who upload documents and participate in the port procedure. Our recommendation is to confirm who will actually attend or act before starting the file. A broker arranging a viewing is not necessarily the authorised person in the administrative application. Use the port's live requirements to check representation evidence rather than assuming a marketing instruction authorises every act needed to sell the vessel.
The Fethiye instructions refer to originals and vessel identity photographs, including engine serial and hull identification where present. Our recommendation is to make the serial numbers readable, compare them with the documentary description and resolve differences before the appointment. Keep uploaded copies and originals organised by purpose. The instruction document contains historic portal examples; those illustrate preparation rather than promise current appointment times. Confirm the live process with the port and do not schedule completion around an assumed administration period that has not been published for the actual application. No statutory pre-sale cleaning programme, mandatory seller survey, marketing duration or official repair budget was verified. Current appointment availability and individual foreign-flag or commercial-vessel transfer and safety applicability require separate confirmation. For these, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Broker tip: Our recommendation is to review serial numbers and signing authority before booking completion. Ask the responsible office for its current file requirements and assign one person to check that uploaded copies and original documents match. A related question is answered in our guide on whether you can sell a boat privately in Turkey.
Signing a boat purchase agreement.
Ship-register transfer form
Article 1001 requires the ownership-transfer agreement for a ship-register vessel to be written with notarised signatures, or concluded at the ship registry office.
Source: Presidency legislation database – Turkish Commercial Code, updated 14 Feb 2011Article 997 applies movable-property provisions to ownership and limited real rights in Turkish vessels outside the Turkish ship register.
Source: Presidency legislation database – Turkish Commercial Code, updated 14 Feb 2011Fethiye's illustrated procedure directs the applicant to check the vessel details and select FETHİYE as the application port.
Source: Fethiye Port AuthorityFethiye's instructions identify the buyer and seller representatives who provide information, upload requested documents and perform the port transaction.
Source: Fethiye Port AuthorityFethiye's portal declaration requires the applicant to present the originals of uploaded documents at the application.
Source: Fethiye Port AuthorityFethiye's instructions ask for colour photographs showing the starboard and port sides, stern, engine serial number and hull number where present when attending for the sale.
Source: Fethiye Port AuthoritySection 4
Our recommendation is to agree inspection access, the proposed survey scope and responsibility for any haul-out or sea trial before suppliers are booked. Keep the schedule realistic and identify who can operate the vessel during testing. The buyer's ordinary inspection and notification duties under the Code of Obligations do not establish a universal survey package. Let the surveyor define the technical work and let the lawyer review any inspection condition in the proposed sale agreement. Record how findings and seller responses will be delivered and retained.
Where a defect is identified, our recommendation is to preserve the evidence and communicate it through the agreed route. The code addresses ordinary inspection, later hidden defects and the effects of failing to notify, with an exception concerning gross fault. Avoid promising that a viewing or survey closes every future responsibility question. Equally, do not assume any technical finding permits automatic cancellation under every agreement. Ask the lawyer to connect the actual facts, disclosure record and inspection clause to the legal requirements for the particular transaction.
For handover, our recommendation is to use the agreed inventory and document list and record what the buyer receives. Identify physical possession, keys, onboard instructions and any incomplete work. Coordinate the payment conditions with the transfer route confirmed by the lawyer and registry. The code's sale provisions require the seller to transfer possession for the purpose of transferring ownership; preparation should therefore lead to a clear delivery plan. A clean presentation and a completed online file are useful steps, but neither alone answers every completion question.
Broker tip: Our recommendation is to use the same condition schedule, inventory and document list during negotiation and handover. Record outstanding work and each party's responsibility so the physical delivery reflects the written agreement. See also our guide on what a yacht broker agreement in Turkey should say. For specific areas, see our guides on selling a boat in Fethiye.
Boat keys and documents handed over on a chart table.
Ordinary inspection
Practical support
Peter Mattey is a yacht broker at European Yacht Brokers with a BA in Law. He is not a Turkish lawyer: for Turkish law and tax we refer you to a locally qualified adviser. What we can do is help you plan the sale, put the right questions to the other side and spot gaps in the paperwork before you commit.
If you are selling a boat in Turkey, tell us about the boat and where it is through the enquiry form on this page and a broker will reply. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
The handover of a boat at the dock.
Your questions
The official sources opened do not establish a universal pre-advertising repair programme. They do address seller responsibility for stated qualities and relevant defects. Our recommendation is to disclose known issues, retain maintenance evidence and separate completed repairs from proposed work. Let a competent technician investigate uncertainties and a locally qualified lawyer review the final condition wording rather than assuming presentation alone resolves responsibility for the boat's condition. (Presidency legislation database)
Yes, as a practical preparation recommendation. Article 1002 addresses seller-owned accessories in the transfer of a registered vessel unless otherwise agreed, and separately addresses other ownership rights. Our recommendation is to identify exclusions and third-party items before advertising and retain the agreed list. Match it to the final handover rather than leaving buyer and seller to reconcile photographs showing equipment that is later removed. (Presidency legislation database)
The published instructions identify the application, representatives, document uploads, originals and vessel identity photographs. Our recommendation is to compare the boat and engine identifiers with the documents and confirm the current requirements with Fethiye Port Authority before attending. The illustrated document contains historic screen examples, so it does not establish present appointment availability or prove that every vessel follows this binding-register route. (Fethiye Port Authority)
No universal elimination is established here. The Code of Obligations distinguishes known and discoverable defects, the seller's assurances, inspection and notification, and gross fault. Our recommendation is to keep a dated condition schedule, actual survey findings and the seller's written response. Ask the locally qualified lawyer to review those facts alongside the contract rather than relying on attendance at a viewing as proof that all issues were known. (Presidency legislation database)
Yes, as a practical preparation recommendation. The current official private craft annex identifies compulsory equipment with conditions linked to people aboard and the boat arrangement, including flotation, cooking-area fire protection and first aid supplies. Our recommendation is to inspect the actual items and agree replacement responsibility in writing. Commercial and individual foreign-flag applicability need separate confirmation instead of assuming the private-craft list settles every category. (Bodrum Regional Port Authority)
This guide only includes facts checked against official sources. For anything it does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information, and ask a locally qualified adviser to confirm the position for your own boat.
Ready when you are
Thinking of selling?
Get an honest view on price and how we would market your boat.
Sell your boat TurkeyCheck it yourself
Revised Annex 2: minimum and recommended private craft equipment.
Turkish Code of Obligations: sale, defects, deposits, costs and brokerage provisions in the official consolidated text.
Turkish Commercial Code: vessel title transfer and accessories in the official consolidated text.
Published illustrated sale appointment and document-upload instructions; historic screen examples do not promise present appointment availability.
Keep reading
Talk to European Yacht Brokers
Selling a boat in Turkey? Tell us about it
Tell us about the boat and where it is and a broker will reply.
