Unseaworthiness and liability under Turkish law

A recent Turkish Court of Appeal case sheds light on the issue of liability classification societies under Turkish law.

The facts

The dispute was between the plaintiff Cerrahoğulları Umumi Nakliyat Vapurculuk & Ticaret TAŞ (the shipowner) and the defendant Lloyd’s Register of Shipping (‘LRS’; the classification society). The shipowner claimed that the seaworthiness documents of Efes, which were released by the classification society following the five years special survey carried out in accordance with national and international rules, did not reflect the real condition of the vessel and therefore caused over US$2.5m damage.