Ships calling in Turkey should brace for surprise bunker inspections as authorities step up a nationwide effort to crack down on tax-evading fuel sales.

Such campaigns are not unusual in the region.

Six years ago, officials in neighbouring, cash-strapped Greece arrested several masters and chief engineers for allegedly breaching the country's customs codes, after discrepancies were found between the volume of bunkers declared on customs forms and what the ships were actually carrying in their tanks.

A similar crackdown seems to be underway in Turkey.

Cold-call inspections on vessels at Turkish ports are likely to increase after a presidential decree was published in the official gazette that vows to eradicate bunker smuggling.

"The number of such cases reaching our office are already hitting record numbers," lawyer Akif Serdar told TradeWinds.

ErsoyBilgehan, the Istanbul-based law office Serdar works at, warned clients about the impending development in a newsletter on Monday.

"It becomes evident that the frequency of the inspections on the vessels will increase ... inspectors will be particularly concerned with the vessels' compliance with bunker-related regulations," the text read.

To avoid trouble with public prosecutors, masters and chief engineers should conduct accurate and timely bunker surveys before calling at Turkish ports, ErsoyBilgehan said.

Relying on bunker measurements via electronic means may not be sufficient, the lawyers warned. Turkish authorities conduct bunker surveys via sounding pipe and any discrepancy with electronically generated measurements may stir fuel-smuggling suspicions.

Even though ErsoyBilgehan has not seen any cases of ships held for more than a couple of days so far, there is no way of telling what problems shipowners may face if their cases wind up in court.

Trouble around the Aegean

Turkish authorities' motivation behind the recent anti-smuggling drive is not clear.

In Greece's case six years ago, it resulted from the country's sovereign debt crisis, which sent the government in Athens scurrying to raise funds to repay creditors.

Turkey's financial situation has deteriorated as well lately, as a sliding currency fuelled inflation and forced the government to protect deposits.

Late in December, the government in Ankara hiked marine pollution fines by about a third, most likely to adjust to inflation.