***Further UPDATE on the 185 day Turkey customs issue 26/10/2018 ***
Further to my last update, I am sorry to say that although we were told the issues had been cleared up…. They haven’t!!

Many foreign flagged boats where the registered owners are living in Turkey are still being refused entry! We are now told that there needs to be a change in the law, which means that this wasn’t a misinterpretation at all!

Didim & Kusadasi are the last ports we have heard have been refusing entry, and according to agents more ports have also been informed!

Please read this, it may concern you or sailors you may know!

A few days ago we sailed from Kalymnos to Didim with the intention of checking back into Turkey.
We moored in the marina and headed for the Harbour Master, who entered our transit log details onto the system and then stamped our paperwork.
From here we were sent to the Port Police who immediately stamped our passports and then on to Customs. This is where our whole world was turned upside down!!!
Initially all seemed ok, but then faces began to take on a serious look and phone calls began to be made. The room now began to fill up with everyone from customs officers, Port Police, shipping agents and the Harbour Master.
Something was wrong, we could feel it !!!
Atilla the agent then began to try and explain what was going on, and it all revolved around the boat being Foreign flagged!
Customs head office were under the impression that being foreign flagged, we, as owners must spend at least 185 days out of Turkey within a 12 month period before we are allowed to bring Kejstral back in!
Neither ourselves, the Port Police, the agent or the Marina manager (yes he had joined the party now too) had ever come across this regulation!
More phone calls and more discussion culminated in customs informing us we had to leave immediately and go back to Greece!
We have Turkish residency and a Turkish marina contract, but none of this was taken into account, and we were forced to leave!!
It is now 4.45pm, there is 28 knots blowing from the NW, the sea state is awful and we have to make our way to the nearest Greek anchorage before dark! We didn’t make it to Xerokambos in Leros until 8.45pm and had to drop the hook in total darkness.
We have since been in contact with various ports along the Turkish coast, and everyone has been informed by Didim to refuse us entry ?
Kejstral has now been forced to take shelter in Leros marina, where we have had no option but to take out a 12 month contract.
We never spend 185 days out of Turkey as we live there, so on this ruling we will never again be able to enter Turkey with the boat….. Stupid!!!!

We are told by a few that this has been a miss interpretation of the rule and will be resolved soon…… I won’t hold my breath!!!

FOREIGN YACHTS IN TURKEY – THINGS ARE QUIET….
From an e-mail sent by Gwen Bylund (SSCA), based in Turkey.

In general, in the Marmaris area and along the coast, “things” are quiet. It’s not because it’s winter but as a result of yachtsmen/women leaving Turkey over the past few years. In brief, marinas raised mooring and other fees, the government raised the prices of the transit log and visas/resident permits, and local chandleries/industrial areas have also raised their prices.

Keep in mind that some marinas have more vacant slips than they do have occupied slips. At the moment, Yat Marina in Marmaris Bay does have fewer slips since boat owners have an annual habit of leaving the area (and sailing): The owners leave for home (UK, Europe, Russia and Scandinavia) about the end of October, to return the end of April (7-8 months). Netsel Marina has moved any remaining boats to 2 pontoons only. Netsel says they can accommodate 1,000 boats, but there’s too many slips unoccupied, especially the larger yacht moorings and on the hard standing places.

On the hard standing, the fee is 30% more than the mooring fee. The first 10 days on hard standing are complimentary but IF one wants more time, those ten days are added on to the additional days so you don’t actually have the first 10 days complimentary.

The Blue card is still in effect. It is to be purchased upon check-in to Turkey. It doesn’t expire. There is a fee for the card. Since fees rise constantly here (one reason why people leave!), the most recent price I could find was 25 TL.

Anyone here (women, children, men, yachtsmen/women and foreigners alike) require Turkish offered health insurance. This is calculated: single person, couple, entire family TL 480 per month. If anyone is over 65 years of age there is private company insurance available. Under 65 there is the state insurance at 480 Tl per month. Even if yachtsmen/women, et al have international health insurance they must still take on the Turkish insurance. This expenditure is another reason people leave Turkey.

I know it is a 2 years old comment but I wanted to reply. You need to change the list in transit log if you are sailing with your guests. They are all considered as crew. I went sailing on US flagged boat with my family (we are all owners of the boat.) and the coast guard said we have to change the transit log. Turkish owners of US flagged boats don’t do that because it is usually not checked.

We were lucky because the coast guard personnel was understanding but I am sure there is a fine if the people on board are different from the transit log.

The Coast Guard issued (us with) a fine for the absence of the Blue Card. The Blue Card was not issued by our agent who did our CHECK-IN and TRANSIT LOG in Istanbul for $500.

We would like to express our satisfaction with the complete refit and painting delivered by MAVIMAR YACHTING in Marmaris. Since coming onto the project, Mavimar’s team has carried out incredible energy into ensuring that the project runs smoothly. We will definitely work with them again in a future project.

“Boat owners also have to use the Blue card at least once a year or be fined”

YACHTS IN TURKISH WATERS BEWARE AS A ONCE A YEAR PUMP/BLUE CARD USAGE IS NOT SUFFICIENT.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN THAT ONCE A YEAR USE OF BLUE CARD DOES NOT APPLY. REGULAR BOATS IN THE AREA OF DATCA HAVE THEIR BLUE CARD SCANNED AT A FACILITY NO LESS THAN ONCE EVERY TWO WEEKS. ACCORDING TO DATCA COAST GUARD BLACK/GREY WATER USAGE IS DEEMED AT 30 LTR PER PERSON PER DAY. PERHAPS OTHER AREAS ARE NOT AS STRINGENT BUT DATCA AUTHORITIES ARE NOT FLEXIBLE WITH THIS.

WARNING TO ALL YACHTS IN TURKEY!!!
We pumped out in Antalya on arrival last year, September, and left the marina, and Turkey, the next day for 7 months overseas. Our vessel was on the hardstand the entire time we were away. When we returned to Antalya, we anti-fouled and launched the boat, sailing from Antalya to the Datca area in June.

We have exceedingly large tanks that can hold for several weeks before needing to pump out. We proceeded to Datca to pump out but they did not have the correct fittings at their facility to perform a pumpout. We were told to come back in a week and it should be ok to pump out then. We still had enough room in tanks, approximately 85% full since leaving Antalya in June. We were grateful that we had large tanks. Amazingly, in all the travels we have had in Turkey, it is very rare to see any sizable vessel pumping out on shore anywhere.

The day before we were due to return to Datca to pump out, or attempt to pump out, the Coast Guard visited the anchorage, 10 NM east of Datca, and looked at our paperwork. As we had not pumped out since September, it appears they felt we must have pumped out somewhere other than at a designated facility. They did not take into account the boat was unattended on the hardstand in Antalya for 7 months. We subsequently acquired a letter from Setur Marina Antalya confirming this but Coast Guard officials were not interested in seeing the letter or hearing anything about it. We were told that it is deemed that the usage per person per day for waste water is 30 litres. That means they considered that we have 60 liters per day going into our tanks. That is absurd. The Coast Guard informed us that we should be pumping out EVERY 2 WEEKS!

In Datca we were told that we would not be authorized to leave Turkey without paying the fine. We paid to the tax office 9,500.25 TL!! Paying within 30 days gave us a 25% discount on the fine which was 12,267.00 TL ($4,100.00 USD)!!

We enquired about appealing the decision but were told by all we spoke to that no-one has ever been successful in appealing, regardless of the facts or proof of any kind that can prove nothing was done wrong. We enquired at Customs, Datca, regarding the appeals process and they would not inform us where to start apart from saying “Go see your agent”. Our agent, the biggest in Datca, said it was a waste of time and money to even try.

We do not understand the paperwork as it is in Turkish. I refused to sign as I did not know the contents. The paperwork was written on the deck of a gulet anchored in the same bay on 11th July at 1430 hrs, which, according to the paperwork they presented was when the offense occurred, but we are not sure. The officials were told our tanks were just over just over 85% full at that time and I offered to show them but they were not interested. I informed the officials that we tried to pump out in Datca and was informed by the official that “It is not our problem!” We have subsequently found out that the Datca pump out facility has been inoperative for a long time. Therefore, perhaps, virtually all the boats in Datca may be contravening the laws.

BEWARE IF YOU PLAN TO VISIT TURKEY. MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR BLUE CARD SCANNED EVERY 2 WEEKS OR PAY A HEFTY FINE.

This comment from a long-term liveaboard/cruiser based in Marmaris.

Where have all the cruising boats wintered in Turkey gone?

In the past 8 years at least, during autumn, winter, and spring, the marinas in Marmaris have been full of 45-60 yachtsmen/women staying in Marmaris full time. This population, of course, is great for social activities and an interesting blend of personalities and cultures in the yachting community.

This year, however, the yachting community population is so low that it’s a struggle to get 8-10 persons together for any kind of activity or get-together. I’ve never seen so few people in Marmaris Bay!

More yachts appear to be berthing for the winter in Finike, which is much further south of the usual and popular cruising area of this part Turkey, and many are leaving for winter in Greece, Malta, Crete and other Mediterranean ports.

From emails, I have received and face-to-face conversations with departing cruisers, possible reasons for this exodus may be:
1) An increase in marina charges (mooring, lift and launch, electricity, etc.) not only in Marmaris Bay but in Turkey in general.
2) Fear of political instability (although this hasn’t had an effect on Marmaris and other northern/western ports and communities).
3) Changes in residence permits (1 year vs 5 years, application procedures etc.), plus local and governmental health insurance fees rising and their non-recognition of international health care companies.

About the only positive thing about Turkey reported to me by foreign cruisers is the favourable exchange rate of the GBP and USD (1 USD at today’s rate is 2.98 Turkish Lira and 1 GBP over 4 Turkish Lira).

Transit Log: Regardless of what an agent tells you, you ONLY have to amend your transit log when you add or subtract CREW or CAPTAIN. If you have GUESTS coming, their names are NOT required to be on the transit log. If you are in Marmaris and using Ankar Agency for help, she will tell you differently.

But she is wrong. Read the rules in English associated with the transit log. It never mentions the word “guests.” If this was required, every Turkish owner of an American flagged boat would be updating his transit log every weekend. And they are NOT! So do not be fooled into doing so. The agents that tell you this are just trying to line their pockets with your money.

Bluewatersailor

Checking into turkey
The cost at Datca Seher Tours it 280 TL and if you require them to supply a Visa EU boats it 25 euro. sehertour@hotmail.com
Bozburun, lodos yachting 105 Euros

Hope this help.

We purchased the US registered Farr 50PH in September ’14. The boat was in Didim at D-Marin marina where we left her after a quick shakedown cruise. We are secured with YachtWORKS who are resolving a number of issues we discovered on the shakedown. Our experience with Can (John) the owner of YachtWORKShas been extremely good. They are professional and the pricing reasonable for the work to date…particularly a new epoxy barrier coat system.

The marina is the best ive seen with travel lifts to 600 tons albeit 4500€ for the Winter including lift. Our survey experience was also exceptional with Yusuf Civelekoglu of Marine Solutions in Bodrum. Our short time in Turkey allowed is to sail onto the North side of the Datca peninsula which was a wonderful opening into Turkey. Landside a trip to Effes is not to be missed along with Didima. New to posting here so…more in the Spring of 2015

If you want a reliable maintenance company to handle all your boat needs in or around Marmaris we highly recommend Mavimar, owned by Ercan Erkut, former naval officer,yacht builder and restorer. We have had Ercan oversee our winter work for the last 5 years on our 14 meter sailboat. We’ve had our boat entirely painted, electrical, plumbing, canvas and many other jobs completed ontime, at the agreed price and to our complete satisfaction. His office is located on the street opposite the tennis courts behind Netsel Marina. http://www.mavimar.com