Bosporus SP-1 Documentation Requirements 2026

Every year, more than 45,000 commercial vessels transit the Bosporus — and a noticeable chunk of them are bounced by TSVTS within minutes of submitting their SP-1, not because the vessel particulars are wrong, but because the documentation backing the form is missing, expired, or inconsistent with what is being declared. This piece is a focused reference for the documentation specifically — every certificate, manifest, and record that has to be on board and consistent with the corresponding SP-1 field before the agent hits submit.

This is the documentation companion to the broader SP-1 filing overview, which covers deadlines, form mechanics, and the broader process. Here we focus on what each of the 16 fields actually requires in terms of supporting paperwork, and when a document gap will void an otherwise correctly filled-out form.

What "SP-1 Documentation Requirements" Actually Means

The SP-1 is technically a 16-field pre-arrival notification — vessel identity, cargo, transit parameters, and an emergency contact. That sounds like a forms exercise, but every field is a typed assertion that a corresponding supporting document has to be physically on board, currently valid, and consistent with the data entry. When a vessel "has the right documents," TSVTS means every one of those underlying certificates, manifests, and records checks out against the SP-1 declaration.

The mistake most operators make is treating the SP-1 as the document itself. It is not. The SP-1 is a summary of the on-board evidence that has been compiled elsewhere — tonnage measurement by a classification society, security certification by the flag administration, dangerous cargo categorisation by the shipper, and ballast water management by the crew and the BWMS manufacturer. If any link in that chain is missing or stale, the SP-1 is not just useless; it is a record of false declarations filed with a foreign authority. Turkish maritime law treats wilful or careless false declarations as a criminal matter — operators need to take the documentation behind the form as seriously as they take the form itself.

For a broader reading of how the SP-1 fits into the overall Bosporus filing process, see the complete filing guide, and for a side-by-side of the SP-1 against the TUBRAP dimensional check, see SP-1 filing requirements.

The 16 Required SP-1 Fields and Their Supporting Documents

The table below covers all 16 SP-1 fields (A through X) used by TSVTS in 2026, in the order the agent fills them in on the portal. Every row shows what data the field requires and which supporting document(s) the master is asserting as the basis for the entry. The "on-board location" column is supplied so the bridge team knows exactly where to fetch each reference during a TSVTS spot-check.

The 10 supporting document types that show up on virtually every SP-1 are: Certificate of Registry, ITC-69, ISSC, BWRB, Ship's Particular Sheets, Deck Log Book, Dangerous Cargo Manifest (or negative DG declaration), ISSC, Minimum Safe Manning Document, and the SMS. The remaining fields draw on tactical documents — load line certificate, CSR, BWMS Type Approval — that are pulled in only when a specific declaration triggers them.

Documentation Timeline: H-72 to H-1

Each supporting document has its own validity window that has to be valid at the moment the SP-1 is accepted, and again at the moment of actual transit. The H-72 to H-1 checklist below covers the critical documentation checkpoints — at each step, the bridge team confirms the relevant certificate or record is current and matches what is being entered on the form.

1. H-72 — ISSC continuous validity check. The ISSC must have at least 5 days of remaining validity at SP-1 acceptance. If the intermediate verification (year 2.5) is due during the transit window, schedule it ahead of submission.
2. H-72 — SMS and DOC currency check. The Safety Management Certificate and the company's Document of Compliance (DOC) must be valid through the end of the transit window. An SMS that expires mid-voyage invalidates an accepted SP-1 the moment it lapses.
3. H-48 — BWRB entries verified. For dangerous cargo files at H-48, all ballast operations from the last port of call to present must be entered in the BWRB and signed by the master. For D-2 vessels, the BWMS log entries must reconcile with the system clock and the type-approval scope.
4. H-48 — DG manifest reconciliation. For IMDG cargo, reconcile the Dangerous Cargo Manifest against the shipper's DGDs and the booking confirmations from the last port. Any discrepancy becomes a false-declaration exposure.
5. H-24 — Last 10 ports reconciliation. Confirm the deck log entries for the last 10 ports match the BWRS entries, the AIS track history, and the master's voyage plan. A port that is on the manifest but missing from the deck log is a frequent spot-check red flag.
6. H-24 — Load line and ITC cross-check. Confirm the current loaded draft is consistent with both the ILLC freeboard markings and the ITC-69 tonnage. Re-measured vessels since last SP-1 need a fresh ITC.
7. H-12 — ISPS level re-verified. Confirm the ISPS level declared on the SP-1 still matches the current ISPS level on board. A level change (1→2 or 2→3) by the flag administration after SP-1 acceptance requires an amendment.
8. H-6 — Final documentation sweep. Bridge team confirms all 16-field supporting documents are on board, accessible, and currently valid. Any document that has expired in the last hour of waiting at anchorage triggers a fresh SP-1 amendment.
9. H-1 — ISSC and SMS spot-check readiness. The ISSC, CSR, SMS, DOC, BWRB, ITC-69, ILLC, Dangerous Cargo Manifest, and Minimum Safe Manning Document are gathered in the bridge folder for the TSVTS spot-check that frequently follows ETA confirmation.

SP-1 vs TUBRAP: Two Different Document Sets

The SP-1 form gets most of the attention, but it is one of three distinct Bosporus submission paths. The other two are TUBRAP and VTSC/SP-1 email, and they draw on overlapping but distinct documentation. Confusing the three is one of the costliest errors in Bosporus compliance, so a quick clarification:

• SP-1 — The standard 16-field pre-arrival notification submitted through the TSVTS portal via a Turkish agent. Covers all foreign-flagged merchant vessels in normal commercial service. This is the document set the table above covers.
• TUBRAP — The Turkish Straits Under-keel Clearance and Risk Assessment Protocol. A vessel-specific dimensional and structural clearance for vessels whose beam, draft, or air-draft is at or near Bosporus limits. The TUBRAP submission draws on the ship's GA plan, the ship's stability booklet, the air-draft measurement at the vessel's actual loaded condition, and a route-specific bathymetric survey — none of which are used in SP-1.
• VTSC SP-1 email — An optional email-channel SP-1 for vessels where the TSVTS portal is not available, used primarily during system outages. Same 16 fields, same documentation, just submitted via the dedicated VTSC mailbox with a documented message-hash proof-of-submission.

Operators familiar only with Panama VUMPA or Suez SCNT filings often conflate the SP-1 with the entire Bosporus compliance regime. The two tools — CanalClear's Bosporus filing wizard — cover both SP-1 and TUBRAP within the same filing flow because they share the vessel particulars and the cargo manifest inputs. The bosporus hub at canalclear.org/bosporus has the full breakdown of which tool to use for which vessel profile.

Common Documentation Rejection Triggers

TSVTS rejections are not informal queries — they are formal denials that require a complete resubmission and reset the convoy-slot clock. The most common rejection triggers are documentation-specific — meaning the field entries may be correct in isolation, but the supporting documents are inadequate. Here are the seven that surface most frequently in 2026:

1. Expired ISSC. The International Ship Security Certificate has passed its validity date, or the intermediate verification window (year 2.5) was missed. An expired ISSC is an automatic rejection with no override — a fresh certificate from the flag administration is required.
2. BWRS gap on the BWRB. The BWRB has missing or sequential gaps that the vessel cannot explain during the TSVTS spot-check. Even a single missed ballast entry between ports disqualifies the ballast declaration on Field L and pulls the SP-1 with it.
3. IMDG manifest mismatch. The Dangerous Cargo Manifest declared on Field J does not reconcile with the shipper's DGDs, the booking confirmations from the last port, or the actual loading condition. Most often this is a last-minute container loaded at the previous berth that did not appear on the DG planning.
4. SMS or DOC lapse. The Safety Management Certificate or the company's Document of Compliance has expired or been suspended between SP-1 acceptance and the actual transit. An accepted SP-1 with a lapsed SMS is treated as if it were never filed.
5. ITC-69 mismatch. The gross and net tonnage figures on the SP-1 do not match the current ITC-69. Most often the cause is a re-measurement that has not been reflected on the certificate yet, but TSVTS does not care about the cause — the figures must match the certificate exactly.
6. Load line certificate freeboard inconsistency. The vessel's current loaded draft exceeds the ILLC freeboard for the assigned transit zone, or the ILLC has been reissued and the SP-1 references the old freeboard assignment.
7. Last 10 ports incomplete or contradictory. Field I is missing ports, lists ports that contradict the declared transit direction, or has dates that do not align with the AIS track and the deck log. TSVTS can reconcile this automatically, so a sloppy Field I is easy to catch.

How to Verify Documentation Compliance Before Submission

The fastest, most reliable way to catch documentation gaps before the agent submits is to run the full SP-1 through a pre-submission validator that cross-references every field against its supporting document. The CanalClear Bosporus validator runs the 16-field form against the on-board document set and flags any field whose data point cannot be backed up by a current certificate or record.

The validation cycle looks like this in practice:

• Step 1 — Field population. The agent or the operator enters the 16 SP-1 fields from the on-board record. The fastest path is to pull vessel particulars directly from the ITC-69 and the ISSC, rather than retyping them — most re-keying errors are eliminated when the data flows from the certificate.
• Step 2 — Document cross-reference. The validator checks every field against its supporting document and flags any inconsistency. The most common flags are: ISSC expiry, BWRS gaps, IMDG manifest mismatch, and last-10-ports inconsistencies.
• Step 3 — TSVTS-style rejection simulation. The validator simulates the TSVTS portal submission logic and reports which fields would trigger an automatic rejection. This is the closest you can get to a dry run before the agent hits submit.
• Step 4 — Document fetcher. For each field, the validator points to the on-board location of the supporting document. The bridge team uses this list to confirm everything is physically on board and accessible before transit.
• Step 5 — Amendment workflow. If validation surfaces a documentation gap, the operator amends the affected field, refreshes the supporting document if necessary (e.g., a fresh ISSC schedule), and re-runs the validator before the agent resubmits.

For the broader filing overview, see the complete Bosporus filing guide. For a narrower focus on filing deadlines and process timing, see the dedicated SP-1 filing requirements piece.

Frequently Asked Questions

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