Maresign
Maresign
Maresign

· Gökçen Özkan

Our Technology Partner, ArkSigner: The Qualified Signature Infrastructure Behind Our Work

Maresign works with ArkSigner as its technology partner for qualified electronic signatures. ArkSigner is an electronic certificate service provider (ESHS) authorised by Türkiye's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK): it issues the qualified certificates, runs the timestamp service and provides remote identity verification. Maresign is not a certificate authority and does not issue certificates. Our work sits one layer above the infrastructure: deciding which maritime document needs which signature level and legal basis, designing the workflow around how ships, agencies and surveyors actually operate, and reading the signed result as evidence. Where a client needs ArkSigner products, we can arrange them; we disclose that relationship, and it never shapes an expert opinion.

What a qualified signature gives you today

Under Law No. 5070, Art. 5(1), a secure (qualified) electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature. Art. 5(2) excludes legal transactions that the law subjects to official form or a special ceremony, and guarantee contracts other than bank letters of guarantee and surety bonds issued by insurers established in Türkiye. In court, qualified e-signature data is treated like a signed deed until the contrary is proven (HMK Art. 205/2). ArkSigner's signatures follow the ETSI CAdES, XAdES and PAdES formats, which support long-term validation.

What it does not give you

A qualified signature authenticates the signer and protects the integrity of the document. It does not make an electronic bill of lading transferable as a document of title. That needs exclusive control and singularity recognised by statute, which Türkiye has not yet enacted (see the Türkiye eBL Legal Status Tracker). TTK Art. 1526(2) already allows the signature and entries on a bill of lading to be made electronically where the law of the issuing country permits it; the missing piece is electronic possession. Outside Türkiye, a Turkish qualified signature is not automatically recognised under eIDAS, because Türkiye is not on the EU Trusted List.

Why it matters at sea

Survey reports, letters of protest, crew agreements, agency documents and letters of indemnity are signed by people who are rarely in the same place. A qualified signature with a trusted timestamp gives each of these documents evidence that holds up in a Turkish court, and a verifiable trail for insurers and Port State Control. That is the layer Maresign can deploy now. The eBL registry layer is in R&D.


Primary sources

Read the full reference analysis →

‹ MLETR in Türkiye: Where the Law Stands, Where It Is Going

Why "Any E-Signature" Is Not Enough at Sea ›