A STUDY ON THE TURKISH REGULATIONS CONCERNING EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND INDEMNIFICATION OF DAMAGES ARISING FROM MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

The issue of marine pollution is one of the main and important topics of maritime world. Following the principle of “Safe, Secured and Clean Seas”, several international regulations have been created by the international bodies, such as IMO. These international regulations are rapidly followed by internal regulations of many countries. Accordingly, Turkey enacted majority of the relevant international regulations into its domestic law, within a short time. Among these provisions, “The act Nrd. 5312 Relating to Emergency Response and Indemnification of Damages Resulted from Marine Environmental Pollution by Petroleum and Other Harmful Materials” and the “Regulation Regarding the Application of the Act Nrd.5312” have special importance for vessels, carrying Turkish and/or foreign flag, sailing in Turkish waters and calling any Turkish port and owners, managers and insurers of these vessels. The aim of the study is to give information on the above mentioned rules, together with an evaluation from the legal point of view.