Checking into Turkey at Bodrum

[Appleyard]

This is a follow up to a post I made a year or so ago on this subject,so apologies if I repeat som of the earlier info.
We arrived in Bodrum from Kos on Saturday morning to check in and get a new Transit log. Unfortunately the bureu of shipping i closed on Saturdays,so I used he agent at Bodrum Mariners Association to obtain the necessary paperwork.
The chap whose name is Ali is very helpful and offers a 2tier service.

Either hewill supply and print off a new Doc for ytl 130 all in after which you can do thelegwork yourself.
Or he will do all the process for ytl 230 .
As his office s just down the quasidefrom he harbourmasters and very closeto the health,customs and passport offices ,it is a very easy job to do it yourself.

Do not park in the marina unless you are planning to stay in Bodrum! Instead go in stern to or alongside the customs quay asdirected. It is free for as long as you require to get the job done.
The only snag which might arise is if you arrive atthe same time as a ferry from Kos,in which caseyou will need to wait for them to clear the passport desk. Just go and have a drink in the cafe.
In total it took us less than an hour to enter Turkey,get a new Transit log and scarper out of the harbour.
Total cost about £50.00
Hope this is of some help.

 

[Pinetops]

James
Would you please clarify whether, for ytl130, the agent entered your details onto the form before printing off, or whether you enter them manually. My understanding of the reluctance of HMs to deal direct with the applicant is that they do not wish to make such entries themselves. In other words, could you have processed the whole thing without an agent?
Thanks

 

[affinite]

Useful info - thanks James
When we checked into Turgutries a couple of weeks ago, I was offered the same service. For €30 the agent would enter details into the relevant computer system and then print them onto a new Transit log. You then did the legwork to get the necessary stamps. I assume this was the same in Bodrum but I'll let James speak for himself.
Next time I think I'll try the customs quay at Bodrum but I chose Turgutreis and the full/expensive Agent option, because I wanted to put 5 crew on my Transit log and there was only me actualy present in the country at the time. (the other 4 flew in a few days later)

Just as an aside I didnt realise that,as per James advice re the marina at Bodrum, you dont have to check in to the Marina/Town harbour at Kos if you just want to check in/out of Greece. You can also tie up at the customs quay there if thats all you need to do. You still need to walk round to port police of course but you dont need to pay for night if you dont need it.
BTW Pinetops - hope you enjoyed Sogut
Regards
Steve

 

[Appleyard]

To clarify..he supplied the form and entered the details (IE printed them onto the form) this for the cost of 130 ytl.He was quite happy to do this ,and while I was in his office,he did the whole job for a French crew..ie supplied,printed and did all the legwork for them for the larger sum. In fact I met him while we were bothin the customs office. He appears to be a really genuine guy and hopefully will get plenty of business from forumites in the future ?

To answer your second query..I could not have processed the thing myself.In the past I uswdto go along to the Bureau of shipping,just beside the marina in Bodrum and they would supply the form and print it,leaving me to do the legwork for just the cost of the form alone which was about 100 ytl as I recall,but they were closed on Saturdaywhich is why I used the agent who only effectively charged 30ytl extra to do the printing (processing ..same thing) . So he is definitely not a rip off merchant.

 

[Appleyard]

STEVE
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?319826-DIY-Transit-log-in-Bodrum&highlight=

 

[satsuma]

My transit log was due for renewal this week, and I had the joy of speaking to a couple of agents about them doing the work, but found their prices had skyrocketed, from 30 euros last year, to now 80 euro, plus the fee for the transit log which they now quoted at 60 euros!

I decided to DIY the whole thing, despite being told by the harbourmaster that the law had changed and you "had to go through an agent".

So I found the issuing office for transit logs, the very nice man there confirmed the price for a transit log is 126 Turkish Lira. This is the price wherever you are in Turkey, is payable as Turkish Lira and should not even be quoted in euros, or any other currency for that matter!
He also confirmed that the harbourmaster may charge a "small" administration fee, but he did confirm small, and in Turkish Lira!

I then took the newly issued transit log and receipt to the harbourmaster, who again mentioned that I really should go through an agent, but he "may be able to do it" this time, claiming that with the changes to the "law", only agents had login access to the system, but he might be able to get in!
Amazingly, and within about 15 minutes he had cancelled my old transit log, and re-printed the new one, telling me I had to take it to the customs office for authorisation.

So across the harbour, and into customs, the officers there were extremely friendly and helpful, commenting that usually an agent does this! I pointed out the cost an agent charges, and he responded that he was surprised any foreign yachts visited Turkey, if that is what greets them. He also confirmed that there is no law or other restriction preventing yachtsmen doing their own transit log, or checking in or out of Turkey. The biggest hurdle though, will always be the language barrier, especially if the harbourmaster is reluctant to comply and determined to demonstrate this.

I had to write out, one simple letter to the customs authority (he told me what to write), asking them to issue the transit log, to my vessel as the owner, to insure the paperwork was satisfied. This was handed in at another office a short walk away, stamped and scanned into the system, stamped again and then I took it back to the first office. Transit log ready and waiting, letter handed over and transit log given over.

Total cost 126 Turkish Lira, money saved approximately 91 euros! (I was originally quoted 60 euros as the cost of the transit log, which at 126 Turkish Lira, converts to approximately 49 euros!). After this I had to take a copy slip (carbon) of the transit log, back to the harbourmaster for his records! He was very keen for me not to tell any other yacht owner that this was possible, or that he had done this!

The whole experience was very interesting, and a little of an eye-opener!

Lessons learned:
There is no requirement/law or other impediment to have an agent do this (though if I had been quoted 30 euros I would probably have let them do it).
The fee is 126 Tukish Lira for the transit log, but it is possible a small administration fee may apply, hence possibly jamesmar's cost above at 130tl.
No other fee should apply (unless of course you use an agent).
Time taken, approximately two hours, mostly because I didn't know what I was doing, or where I was going.
There was no mention about the blue card, either when the old log was cancelled, or the new log issued! Customs and sea police could not have been less interested. I have been issued the card for well over a year, and never used it, never even been asked about it!

I would suggest that checking in/out would just require the visit to one or two other offices, but most of these are in the same vicinity as these offices. If you are determined to do it yourself, stand your ground, if you are moored in the customs area, they will pressure the harbourmaster quickly enough!
Shop around! I found out that Kemer marina, does not charge an agency fee for this service! They provide transit logs to their customers for the price of 126 tl.

I can't confirm that life will be this straight forward at every port yachtsmen may check in/out of, but if push comes to shove, try to have a good Turkish speaker with you, and ask, politely and with a smile, if he could very kindly, identify the law that stops him doing the job! It is likely that the customs service/coast guard/sea police will support you, provided you remain polite (keep smiling).

 

[MASH]

I had understood that the reason the DIY route was effectively closed was a "requirement" for the TL to be printed, not hand-written which is difficult for most yotties, and the need to register the details on a website requiring registration that only agents have, thereby excluding anyone else. There was also something about payment of one of the minor fees having to be done via an account instead of by cash.

As ever there seems to be little consistency in the understanding and application of these things in Turkey (among both the officials and the customers) which leaves us, the customers unsure of whether we are being treated correctly or not and thus suspicious of chicanery. It also seems to be very much at the whim of the individual official which may differ from day to day even in the same port. Sadly the whole system is far too complex, time consuming, expensive and utterly pointless.

All in all it leaves the customers uncertain, untrusting and ultimately inclined to go elsewhere. Bloody shame.

 

[Appleyard]

I realise that I did not make it clear that when I posted about doing a DIY transit log,.that it is not possible to do the complete process yourself..you need to have the document printed by an agent ..which will put your details on the computer database. After that it is simple to do the rest of the business ,ie health office,passport and customs and back to harbourmaster yourself. At least that has been my experience in Bodrum.
Satsuma....you did not say where you renewed your TL. Was it in Bodrum?

 

[satsuma]

I had mine done in Antalya, and it was the harbourmaster that printed the details on the transit log, no agent whatsoever involved!

It seems they all "say" only an agent can do it, but the harbourmaster does seem to have the ability (and authority) to access the system. I think the tale is told to justify agents, which if they charged a reasonable fee, would be fine!

The culture in Turkey is the same throughout, when you buy a car for instance, you can hire the services of a follow on man (agent) to deal with the paperwork and authorities for registration etc, you just have to show up at the allotted time and sign! These usually charge around 30-40 tl for a process, that from my understanding, takes about the same time and effort as a transit log!

The same is also true for buying a house etc, you can do it yourself, or sometimes it's just easier to pay for someone to do it for you! An acceptable price, will obviously vary from person to person!