NEWSLETTER 2013
48
included in the movable facilities of the enterprise as well. As a result, it
may be concluded that a ship may be pledged without the delivery of its
possession under commercial enterprise pledge agreements.
Consequently, as a general rule, ships also have to be added to the list
when concluding a commercial enterprise pledge agreement. Otherwise,
if an enterprise forgets to include a ship (which is a motor transport
vehicle) within the agreement, it would not be possible to claim that the
agreement is valid on the basis of the good faith principle, due to the
importance of ships in business transactions.
The Distinction between Registered and Non Registered Ships
under the Scope of the Commercial Enterprise Pledge
The last sub-article of Art. 3 CEPA stipulates that the provisions
regarding ship mortgages in the TCC are reserved. Consequently, the
legal nature of registered and non-registered ships should be examined
separately. Under Art. 1014 TCC, it is stipulated that an agreement can
establish a pledge on a registered ship only through ship mortgage.
Considering the clear provisions of the TCC and CEPA, it may be
derived that it is necessary to establish a ship mortgage as a separate
pledge and not within the scope of the commercial enterprise pledge, as
in real estate.
One can conclude that the purpose of the legislator is to regulate ship
mortgages in more detail, and to make sure the parties establish limited
real rights on ships, which have a high economic value, same as real
estate. Otherwise, it could be suggested that the purpose of Art. 1014
TCC was disregarded, taking into account the number of ships owned by
commercial enterprises and the importance of their economic value.
Due to the above-mentioned provisions, even if the parties agree to
establish a pledge on a registered ship through a commercial enterprise
pledge agreement, no limited real rights can be established on said ship.
This is because registered ships cannot be shown as an element included
in the pledge agreement.
On the other hand, a pledge can be established on non-registered
ships via a commercial enterprise pledge agreement regardless of their