Mr Ergun Ersoy > Ersoy Bilgehan Lawyers & Consultants > Istanbul, Turkey > Lawyer Profile

Ersoy Bilgehan Lawyers & Consultants
MAYA AKAR CENTER, BUYUKDERE CAD 100-102
KAT 26, ESENTEPE, SISLI
34394 ISTANBUL
Turkey
Ergun Ersoy photo

Work Department

  • Maritime, Shipping & Transport
  • Insurance & Re-insurance
  • Litigation & Arbitration
  • Aviation
  • Telecommunication

Position

Senior Partner

Career

Ergun had served as a Master Mariner in the Turkish Navy for 10 years and holds an Oceangoing Master’s License. After leaving the Navy, he qualified as a lawyer and started practicing maritime law. Ergun has more than 30 years of experience as a maritime lawyer focusing on admiralty law, collisions, salvage, general average, pollution, charter party and bills of lading disputes. His main clientele includes ship owners, charterers, P&I clubs, H&M underwriters and salvors.

Ergun represented clients in the vast majority of the maritime accidents and collisions in the Turkish Straits including almost all catastrophic events, some of which were MT “Independenta” c/w MV “Evriali” (1979), MV “Gediz” (General Average) (1989), MV “Cavlibey” c/w MV “Pasabahce” (1991), MV “Rabunion 18” c/w MV “Madonna Lily” (1991), MV “Rabunion 14” c/w MV “Bazias I” (1992), MV “Khudoznik Gerasimov” (fire in Tuzla shipyard) (1993), MT “Nassia” c/w MV “Shipbroker” (1994), MV “Shipbroker” c/w MT “Nassia” (1994), MV “Gu Yuan Hai” c/w MV “Barbaros Oktay” (1995), MT “Gole” (explosion and fire in shipyard) (1997), MV “Caldiron” c/w MV “Guitara Sea” (1998),  MV “Kaptan Osman Bahri” c/w MT “Omerli” (1998), MV “Shipka” c/w “Semele” (1999), MV “Blue Bold” (General Average) (2000), MV “Modisk 3” c/w MV “Yeni Besiktas 2” (2002), MV “Challenger” c/w MV “Fatih N” (2002), MV “Hera” – (sank in Black Sea with cargo; 21 crew lost) (2004), MV “Strontsiy” – (Grand salvage) (2004), MV “Panagia” (hijacking by pirates and general average) (2005), MV “Fatsa B” (classification society liability) (2005), MV “Iran Madani” c/w MV “Hacı İbrahim” (2006), MT “Cape Bird” (collision) (2006), MV “Turgut Kocabaş” c/w MV “Zinnet Mete” (2007), MV “Ofmar” (cargo claim) (2013).

Ergun  continues to lead the maritime team in the cases including MV “Ever Judger” (cargo claim) (2014), MV “Latmar” (cargo claim) (2015), MV “Lady Aziza” c/w MV “Gokbel” (2015), MV “Yusuf Cepnioglu” (cargo claims)  (2015), MV “Ak Ceren” (collision) (2015), MV “Celestyal Crystal” (collision) (2015), MV “Menelaos” c/w MV “Ata” (2017), MV “Aileen” c/w MV “Scandia” (collision) (2018), MV “Persenk” c/w MV “Ahmet Can” (2019), MV “Doric Warrior” c/w MV “Mammad Amin Resulzadeh”  (2019), MV “Oguz Sofuoglu” (salvage and general average) (2019), MT “Syn Zania” (Fire in PETKIM Port) (2019), MV “Songa Iridium” (grounding and salvage) (2020).

He was also one of the few select individuals who advised in the drafting the Statute on Maritime Traffic Order for the Turkish Straits.

Languages

Turkish
English

Memberships

  • Admitted to Istanbul Bar
  • Turkish Maritime Law Association (Co-founder)
  • Insurance Law Turkish Association
  • Oceangoing Shipmasters Association
  • Better Justice Association (Co-founder)

Education

  • LL.B., Istanbul University, 1983
  • Navigation and Ship Propulsion Systems, Post-Graduate, 1975
  • Naval Academy, 1974

Lawyer Rankings

Turkey > Insurance

Ersoy Bilgehan Lawyers & Consultants is distinguished by its deep expertise in the transport sector and its leading position within this space. The team is well-regarded for skilfully handling marine insurance and reinsurance disputes, regularly addressing cargo claims, collisions, vessel damage, pollution, and third-party claims. P&I clubs, ship owners, charterers, yards, and ship financiers are frequent clients of Zihni Bilgehan and M. Raci Alper.Ergün Ersoy holds a prominent reputation in shipping law circles. Emre Ersoy supports clients throughout the entire lifecycle of disputed insurance claims.

Turkey > Transport

(Hall of Fame)

Ergun Ersoy – Ersoy Bilgehan Lawyers & Consultants

Turkey > Employment

Ersoy Bilgehan Lawyers & Consultants excels not only in handling day-to-day labour law issues, such as recruitments and dismissals, but also in high-profile disputes within the shipping industry. The firm’s extensive corporate and commercial expertise enables it to address employment matters linked to M&A transactions, restructurings, and other corporate activities. Clients benefit from Zihni Bilgehan’s expertise in P&I insurance, particularly in claims involving injury or death on board vessels. Ergün Ersoy is a leading authority on cases related to temporary disability, injury, or death resulting from maritime accidents.

Turkey > Dispute resolution

(Hall of Fame)

Ergün ErsoyErsoy Bilgehan Lawyers & Consultants

Ersoy Bilgehan Lawyers & Consultants is best known for its work on shipping matters, but the firm, which is ‘distinguished by its strategic approach and deep legal expertise’, also handles a broad range of contentious matters in the transport and energy sectors. Clients praise senior partners Ergün Ersoy and Zihni Bilgehan, experienced litigator Emre Ersoy, who shows ‘unwavering dedication to clients’, and the ‘professional, patient, logical, and conscientious’ M. Raci Alper, who specialises in shipping and insurance matters.

Turkey > Real estate and construction

Ersoy Bilgehan Lawyers & Consultants is ‘distinguished by its extensive sector knowledge and client-focused approach’. The firm is adept in structuring real estate investment, as well as the conveyance of property assets. Practice head Emre Ersoy, who has significant experience in the hotel and leisure sector, ‘stands out for his exceptional expertise, strategic mindset, and unwavering dedication to clients’. He is supported by corporate and finance partner Zihni Bilgehan and maritime specialist Ergün Ersoy.

Turkey > Restructuring and insolvency

Ersoy Bilgehan Lawyers & Consultants provides assistance with debt restructuring, international liquidation procedures, and bankruptcy matters. Known for its work in the shipping sector, it frequently acts for banks, commodity traders, and logistics companies. The key contacts are Zihni Bilgehan, who is praised for his ‘exceptional work ethic’, shipping and insurance specialists Ergün Ersoy and M. Raci Alper, and Emre Ersoy, who ‘stands out for his exceptional expertise, strategic mindset, and unwavering dedication to clients’.