Recently, the association learned from relevant Turkish channels that the risk of ships being detained or even punished by Turkish customs is increasing due to the false amount of fuel declared by ships arriving at port. Once the customs embarkation personnel find that the amount of fuel stored on the ship exceeds the amount declared by the captain before arriving at the port, or if it is found that there is undeclared fuel on board, the customs officers will carry out an investigation and impose corresponding penalties on the ship, including detaining the ship, fines, confiscating undeclared fuel oil, and pursuing criminal responsibility for the captain and relevant responsible persons.
Cases of punishment for ships
During a recent random inspection by Turkish customs officers, a ship was detained because the amount of fuel it declared did not match the actual amount of fuel on board. After the arrival of the ship, Turkish customs officers boarded the ship to inspect the ship for illegal goods and contraband, and during the inspection, the ship’s fuel tank was independently measured on site, and the calculated fuel storage was about 85 tons more than the actual amount of fuel declared by the ship. The ship was then temporarily detained by Turkish customs authorities, who issued a confiscation order for the ship’s undeclared fuel and ordered the ship to unload the excess fuel. In addition, the captain was taken ashore to assist in the investigation and provided a statement.
At the same time, customs do not allow the ship to leave during the unloading of undeclared fuel, which will undoubtedly lead to delays in the ship. In general, it can take one to two days to provide tankers and unload fuel, and sometimes even three days. In practice, arranging shore tanks and barges can also cause delays on ships. These delays and uncertainties can pose financial losses or risk of default to shipowners. It is also worth noting that undeclared fuel cannot be left on board by providing a guarantee, so it is not easy for shipowners to avoid ship delays in other ways.
According to the local customs decree of Turkey, ships heading to Turkish ports must accurately and timely declare to the customs the quantity of fuel, cargo oil, cigarettes, alcohol and other items on board.
Article 481 of the Turkish Customs Decree
The provisions of the method for determining the amount of ship fuel come from Article 481: Normally, the amount of fuel added by a ship from a port other than Turkey will be recorded in the ship log book and the fuel record book, and if there is a difference between the last refueling and the consumption before arriving at the Turkish port recorded according to the ship logbook and the actual ship fuel record book, this part will be used as the basis for the customs to collect the ship fuel tax and fee.
Article 9 of the Turkish Customs Act
In accordance with paragraph 2, customs officers may search the crew’s personal belongings, items on board, cargo and all areas on board, including cargo holds, ballast tanks and fuel tanks, in order to verify the accuracy of the declarations on board. Based on the search results, items that are identified as smuggled will be confiscated immediately. In particular, if the fuel stock on board is determined to be more than the amount declared by the captain after measurement and inspection, the undeclared fuel must be unloaded from the ship and sent away for disposal.
Anti-Smuggling Act No. 5607, Section 3
According to paragraph 1, a person who smuggles goods without a customs declaration is punishable by imprisonment for one to five years and a hefty fine. If goods are smuggled into the country instead of at a customs checkpoint, the fine will increase by one-third to half. Therefore, under this section, the master and other responsible persons of the ship may be sued for smuggling fuel and other goods.
Association loss prevention advice
In the practice of ship operation, due to the harsh environment at sea and the influence of equipment conditions such as the main engine and auxiliary engine, there is usually an error between the ship’s fuel stock calculated based on the approximate daily consumption and the actual measurement calculation, which is usually not subject to special inspection by the port customs. However, this information indicates that the recent surprise inspections and strict enforcement of ships by Turkish customs are likely to continue, so we remind our members to do the following when calling at Turkish ports:
1. A few days before arriving at the port, the amount of oil in the tank should be carefully measured, especially when the sea conditions are good or at anchorage before the ship arrives at the port, the amount of oil stored in each tank should be arranged to be measured to ensure that the fuel consumption of the ship is continuous and reasonable.
2. The oil tank measurement should include all oil tanks of sedimentation cabinets, daily cabinets and other temporary storage of fuel;
3. After the ship arrives at the port, the chief engineer should arrange to accurately measure the oil tank again to ensure that the amount of oil declared by the captain is basically consistent with the amount of oil stored on the ship and recorded in all record books on board.
4. The individual declaration form and the ship declaration form should also be cautious and serious, and the specific items should be counted and implemented to the specific responsible person;
5. The captain should carefully check the customs declaration list submitted by the ship, including the ship name, date, port, item list, and final signature and seal, and sign and seal each page of the declaration form as much as possible.
