Joint Statement by the Turkish Maritime Federation and Its Member Associations: Attacks on Civilian Vessels Must End, and the Safety of Seafarers Must Be Guaranteed

As the Turkish Maritime Federation, together with our undersigned member associations, we deem it necessary to share the following statement with the public.

The ongoing war in the Black Sea no longer affects only the belligerent parties; it is also directly making civilian seafarers working aboard merchant vessels engaged in international trade targets. The loss of life and injuries suffered by Turkish seafarers in recent targeted unmanned aerial vehicle attacks against merchant vessels constitute the most painful example of this situation.

We condemn all attacks against our innocent and hard-working seafarers, regardless of their nationality.

Approximately 90 percent of world trade is carried out by sea. The seafarers who ensure the uninterrupted operation of this global system are civilian workers who are not parties to any armed conflict. Nevertheless, the recent increase in attacks against merchant vessels, accommodation spaces and crew members seriously threatens the safety of maritime transport and also poses a major risk to the continuity of international trade.

It is the responsibility of all States to find and adopt effective and practicable measures for the prevention of unlawful acts against the safety of navigation at sea, and for the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators of such acts, which endanger the lives of innocent people or cause loss of life, violate fundamental freedoms and seriously undermine human dignity.

We believe that the systematic direct attacks carried out against many vessels, including our vessels flying the Turkish flag in international waters, as well as against cabins occupied by crew members, demonstrate that this developing situation constitutes a crime against humanity and that the perpetrators of this crime must be punished under international criminal law.

We would like to state that the Geneva Conventions and the Protocols annexed thereto provide that civilians and civilian objects shall not be attacked shall not be attacked and that violations of this principle by the parties to the Conventions are contrary to international law.

We recall that Article 51 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts states: “The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against dangers arising from military operations. The civilian population and individual civilians shall not be the object of attack. Civilians shall enjoy the protection afforded by this Section unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities.” Merchant vessels are also protected under Article 52 of this Protocol.

Furthermore, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, as well as the flag States of many foreign-flagged vessels that have been attacked, are parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We call upon these flag States not to turn their backs on the human tragedy taking place and to institute proceedings before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for measures to prevent these attacks and for compensation for the damage sustained.

As in the crimes against humanity committed aboard vessels attempting to deliver aid to Gaza, in respect of which the esteemed Turkish judiciary previously and rightly took action, we call for an investigation to be initiated into the offence of intentional killing in relation to our Turkish citizen seafarers who lost their lives.

The fact that, in recent times, not only Turkish-flagged vessels but also many merchant vessels operating under different flags have faced similar threats demonstrates that the matter has become not a national but a global maritime security issue. The safety of merchant vessels is of critical importance to the stability of the world economy, from energy supply security to the food supply chain.

As the Turkish Maritime Federation, we respectfully inform the public that, in order to protect the safety of seafarers, we will undertake all necessary national and international initiatives and will follow up on the matter before, in particular, the relevant public authorities of our country, as well as the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and other relevant international organizations.

In this context:

• Attacks against civilian merchant vessels must cease immediately.
• The safety of seafarers must be guaranteed by the international community.
• The unmanned aerial attacks in question must be independently investigated.
• The IMO and the ILO must urgently place the issue of unmanned aerial attacks on their agendas. In this context, a working group should be established within the IMO. We recommend the establishment, under the auspices of the IMO, of an international database for reporting attacks against civilian vessels in high-risk areas. We call upon the IMO and its subcommittees to prepare additional recommendations and guidelines concerning unmanned aerial attacks within the scope of SOLAS and the ISPS Code.
• The necessary diplomatic initiatives must be undertaken to ensure the safety of Turkish seafarers.
• Investigations must be initiated in respect of our Turkish seafarers who lost their lives or were injured.
• Flag States must take the initiative and pursue legal remedies in international fora and, to the extent that they are parties thereto, before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in relation to these incidents.
• International coordination mechanisms aimed at mitigating risks for merchant vessels operating in conflict zones must be strengthened.
• Armed attacks carried out within Turkish maritime jurisdiction areas and against Turkish-flagged merchant vessels constitute a clear violation of the sovereign rights and maritime security of the Republic of Türkiye, and it is of vital importance that our State urgently takes all necessary deterrent measures through its naval and air assets.

We reiterate that seafarers are not parties to war. They are the unseen heroes of global trade, carrying energy, food, raw materials, and essential goods to ports throughout the world. The protection of merchant vessels and seafarers is the shared responsibility not only of the maritime sector, but of the entire international community.

The seas must remain not an area into which war is carried, but a shared living space in which peace, safe navigation, international cooperation, and human dignity are protected.

Once again, we pray for God’s mercy upon our seafarer who lost his life, extend our condolences to his family and to our maritime community, wish our injured seafarers a speedy recovery, and hope that such suffering will never be experienced again.

Turkish Maritime Federation (TÜRDEF)

Association of Graduates of ITU Maritime Faculty (YDO) (İTÜ DEFAMED)

Turkish Ocean-Going Ship Masters’ Association (TURKKAPDER)

Turkish Maritime Pilots’ Association (TKKD)

Association of Sea Bus Masters and Chief Engineers

Association of Vessel Traffic Operators (DTOD)

Sail Training Association (YEGED)

Maritime Culture Association

Association of Graduates of Dokuz Eylül University Maritime Faculty (DEFMED)

Ziya Kalkavan Anatolian Maritime High School Alumni Association (ODEMED)

Istanbul University Maritime Transportation and Management Alumni Association

TUDEV Piri Reis University Alumni Association

Beykoz Maritime Vocational High School Alumni Association (BEDEMED)

Ordu Fatsa Maritime Professionals Association (ORFADDER)

Kocaeli University Karamürsel Maritime Schools Alumni Association

Maritime Psychology Association

Marine Employees’ Solidarity Association (DAD-DER)- Click to read DAD-DER’s statement on the issue.

Association of Masters and Chief Engineers of the Directorate General of Coastal Safety

Karadeniz Technical University Maritime Transportation and Management Engineering Alumni Association

Ocean-Going Chief Engineers’ Association

Association of Graduates of ITU Faculty of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering (İTÜ GİMDER)