Bill on civil aviation accepted in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey

According to the accepted articles, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure will be able to determine floor and ceiling fees for services provided to ships at ports, piers, and coastal structures when necessary, limited to the purpose of developing maritime and inland waterway transport and ensuring a free, fair, and sustainable competitive environment.

The mooring fee tariff will be determined by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, not to exceed 2 liras per gross ton of the ship, taking into account factors such as the ship's voyage, duration of stay at anchor, monthly or annual lump-sum payments, the reason for anchoring, and the location of the anchorage for a one-day stay.

Pilotage and towage services to be provided during passage through the Istanbul and Çanakkale straits will be carried out by the General Directorate of Coastal Safety in accordance with the procedures and principles determined by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. No natural or private legal entities will be authorized, nor will any service procurement be possible in this regard.

Port facilities operated by public institutions and organizations, port facilities privatized through the transfer/granting of operating rights under the Law on Privatization Practices, and port facilities operated under the Law on the Construction of Certain Investments and Services within the Framework of the Build-Operate-Transfer Model will be able to provide pilotage and towage services exclusively for these facilities, provided that there is a provision in their contracts.

A share will be taken at varying rates from the monthly gross revenue obtained by natural or legal persons providing pilotage and towage services from these services and related activities such as mooring and shifting.

The share to be paid by natural or legal persons providing pilotage and towage services will be deposited into the accounts of the Ministry's revolving fund management accounting unit no later than the 15th of the month following the month in which the service was provided. 50 percent of the deposited amount will be transferred to the Ministry's central accounting unit by the 5th of the following month to be recorded as revenue in the general budget.

Amounts collected from shipowners as the equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions released by commercial ships arriving at or departing from ports for cargo or passenger handling, calculated within the scope of the regulation, will be recorded as special revenue in the "B" schedule of the general budget. The fees to be collected will be determined based on verified greenhouse gas emissions and the current carbon price of the European Union Emissions Trading System, and this fee will be paid each year by the end of September of the following year as the total amount for the previous year.

The conditions that commercial ships must meet regarding their hull, machinery, boiler, general equipment, life-saving, fire protection and fire extinguishing, navigation and radio equipment, and other tools and accessories according to the work they are assigned to and the voyages they will make, as well as the inspection of these matters, will be determined according to the international conventions to which the country is a party for ships covered by international conventions, and according to regulations issued by the administration for commercial ships outside this scope.

According to the regulations to be added to the Forest Law, temporary warehouses necessary for loading and unloading operations for cargo transfer on highways with access control within state forests located within the boundaries of metropolitan municipalities, and facilities that are complementary to them, may be permitted within the highway boundary line upon payment of an afforestation fee.

PRIVATE SECURITY OFFICERS WILL BE ABLE TO CONDUCT BODY SEARCHES

With the regulation planned to be made in the provisions of the Turkish Civil Aviation Law regarding the National Civil Aviation Security Board and aviation security, all passengers will be checked and searched with technical devices and, when necessary, by hand, along with their belongings, while passing to airports and aircraft, limited to ensuring that aviation security is not violated.

Aviation security measures will also be carried out by private security officers under the supervision of general law enforcement to ensure the safety of life and property and to prevent illegal acts against aircraft, aviation facilities, and individuals.

Private security officers, based on the written order of the airport's civil administrative chief and under the supervision of general law enforcement, will be able to check and search individuals' bodies, belongings, luggage, cargo, and goods with technical devices and, when necessary, by hand upon entry to aviation facilities.

News Source: İHA