- Last Updated: 31 Dec 2025
- These Terms and Conditions ("Agreement") form a legally binding contract between Rated Marine Services (together with its owners, shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, affiliates, and any other related or associated persons or entities; collectively referred to as "Rated Marine", "we", "us", or "our") and you ("you" or "Your"), where you are either:
- - A Service Provider: A maritime service provider who registers and manages a company profile under one or more service categories on the Platform; or
- - A Platform User: An individual or entity (e.g., shipowner, ship manager, captain, ship master, or charterer) who accesses the Platform to discover and evaluate maritime service providers.
- This Agreement sets out the terms of use, obligations, and limitations that apply depending on your role and interaction with the Platform.
- 1. Definitions and Interpretation
- • Agreement Period: The duration of the selected membership, typically one year unless otherwise stated.
- • Applicable Laws: All relevant Turkish legislation (e.g., KVKK), EU GDPR, and international sanctions regimes.
- • Platform: www.ratedmarineservices.com and related mobile apps and services.
- • Service Provider: A maritime firm that creates and manages a profile under defined service categories.
- • Platform User: A party using the Platform to find and evaluate Service Providers.
- • Main Service Category: Primary classification such as Survey, Repairs, Supplies.
- • Sub-Service Category: Specific offerings under a Main Category (e.g., Ultrasonic Tests listed under Surveys & Inspections).
- • Slot Limit: Maximum of 10 Service Providers per port per Main Service Category, subject to change at our discretion. We may modify the slot limit (either upward or downward) at our discretion and without liability.
- • Confidential Information: Any non-public, proprietary information exchanged under this Agreement.
- • Data Protection Legislation: KVKK, GDPR, and related international personal data laws.
- 2. Commencement and Duration
- • This Agreement becomes effective upon registration or payment confirmation and remains valid for 12 months unless otherwise stated.
- • Service Providers may cancel membership with at least 30 days’ written notice before renewal.
- 3. Services Provided
- • Profile listing and secure data storage
- • Geo-location on an interactive maritime map
- • Search filtering by category and port
- • Visibility in port-specific results
- • User behavior analytics for reporting
- • Metrics: profile views, clicks, favorites and reviews and star ratings
- • QR code review and star rating collection
- • Display of reviews on company profiles
- • Access to anonymized analytics based on plan
- • Preliminary Listings
- • Rated Marine Services may publish preliminary listings for maritime companies to facilitate visibility and network accuracy.These listings are informational only and do not represent active user accounts.
- • A listing becomes a managed profile only when a company representative registers through the official onboarding process and/or claims / confirm the account ownership and create their password.
- 4. User Responsibilities
- • Provide accurate, lawful, and up-to-date content
- • Comply with data protection and acceptable use policies
- • Use the Platform for lawful, professional purposes
- • Avoid automated or unauthorized data collection
- • Respect others’ intellectual property and data rights
- • Do not post fake, deceptive, offensive, or defamatory content
- • Do not reverse engineer, scrape, or automate interactions
- 5. Fees and Payment
- • Membership fees as per selected plan, charged in USD via accepted payment methods.
- • Rated Marine may revise pricing; changes apply to new or renewed subscriptions only.
- • Slot Limit of 10 Service Providers per port per category; adjustable by Rated Marine.
- • 20% VAT applies to Turkish-registered Service Providers.
- 6. Intellectual Property
- • All platform content (analytics, visuals, maps, backend) is the exclusive property of Rated Marine.
- • Unauthorized use or duplication of content is prohibited.
- • User Content remains owned by users but grants us a royalty-free, perpetual license to use and adapt.
- 7. Confidentiality
- • Both Service Providers and Platform Users must keep any Confidential Information private.
- • Use such information only as required to fulfill this Agreement.
- 8. Data Protection (KVKK & GDPR)
- • We comply with Turkish Law No. 6698 (KVKK) and EU GDPR where applicable.
- • Personal data is processed for account management, platform functionality, analytics, and legal compliance.
- • Data subject rights: access, rectification, erasure, objection, restriction, portability.
- • By registering, you consent to international data transfers via third-party providers (e.g., GoDaddy, Amazon AWS).
- 9. Legal Compliance and Sanctions
- • Users agree to comply with all Applicable Laws, including Turkish, EU, UN, US (OFAC), UK sanctions.
- • Confirm you are not listed on any sanctions lists or resident in sanctioned territories (e.g., Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Crimea, Venezuela, Belarus, Russia).
- • Notify us immediately if your sanctions status changes.
- • We may suspend or terminate access if sanctions compliance is breached.
- • You indemnify us for any losses arising from your non-compliance with sanctions.
- 10. REVIEW & RATING INTEGRITY, VERIFICATION AND MODERATION
- 10.1 Platform Role and Limitation of Liability : Rated Marine Services (“Platform”) is a digital business intelligence and data analytics infrastructure designed for the maritime industry. To perform data analytics, collect and process information, and present actionable insights back to Service Providers, the Platform enables Marine Service Providers to manage professional profiles, showcase service categories, and list references.
- • The Platform provides data hosting, interaction tracking, analytical reporting, and visibility metrics.
- • It allows Service Providers to review aggregated statistics (e.g., profile views, search appearances, and engagement metrics) and performance insights derived from star ratings and reviews.
- • The Platform enables Service Receivers to search for specific services within their desired ports or locations.
- • The Platform is not a party to any agreement, contract, transaction, or dispute between Service Providers and Service Receivers. It does not provide maritime services, nor does it supervise, manage, or guarantee service quality, performance, or outcomes.
- 10.2 User-Generated Reviews – General Principles: Reviews published on the Platform constitute user-generated content created by Service Receivers.
- • The Platform does not edit, alter, rewrite, influence, or validate the opinions expressed.
- • The Platform acts solely as a hosting and facilitation platform for such content and treats reviews as part of the Service Provider's performance data.
- • Opinions reflect the personal, subjective experience of the reviewer and may differ based on individual expectations, standards, and operational conditions.
- 10.3 Review Eligibility & Verification Requirements: A review may only be submitted in accordance with the following criteria (Compliance is the responsibility of the reviewer; the Platform does not confirm such at the time of submission):
- • Active Profile: The Service Provider must have an active profile on the Platform.
- • Business Identity: The reviewer must use a business-related email address (@company.com) or an official vessel email address. Generic or non-business email providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) are strictly prohibited.
- • Mandatory Proof of Service: The reviewer must upload objective evidence that the service was rendered or the product was received, such as:
- o A headed invoice issued by the Service Provider,
- o A delivery receipt,
- o A headed service or work report.
- • Legibility & Redaction Standard: * Redaction: Reviewers may black out pricing and financial totals, as the Platform does not require financial data for verification.
- o Clarity: Despite redactions, the document must be clear and legible. Documents that are blurry, illegible, partially obscured (beyond pricing), or incomplete will not be accepted.
- • Authorship Confirmation: The reviewer must confirm authorship via the email verification link sent by the Platform. A review will only become visible on the Service Provider’s profile after the reviewer clicks the "Verify" button in the confirmation email.
- 10.4 No Real-Time or Preventive Moderation: The Platform does not perform real-time, automatic, or preventive moderation of reviews. Uploaded documents and content are reviewed only through random manual checks or upon formal complaint/notification by an affected party. The Platform does not undertake a general or continuous monitoring obligation.
- 10.5 Grounds for Review Removal : A review may only be removed or restricted if one or more of the following is clearly established:
- • Inappropriate Content: The review contains insults, profanity, hate speech, threats, or clearly abusive language.
- • Privacy Violations (PII): The inclusion of private personal information (PII) of individuals.
- • Verification Failure: The reviewer used a non-compliant email address or submitted a document that fails to meet the clarity or validity standards in Clause 10.3.
- • Spam & Multiple Submissions: Evidence of "Review Bombing" or the repeated, coordinated, or persistent submission of multiple reviews (positive or negative) by the same entity or for the purpose of spamming the feedback system.
- • Legal Mandate: Upon receipt of a final and enforceable court order or binding decision from a competent authority expressly requiring removal.
- 10.6 No Obligation to Participate & No Removal Requests For Negative Reviews: If the Service Provider is unwilling to receive or tolerate negative reviews, they should refrain from creating or maintaining a profile on the Platform. By creating a profile and/or purchasing a membership, Service Providers expressly acknowledge and accept that a review shall not be removed for any reason other than those established in Clause 10.5. Negative feedback, dissatisfaction, or criticism—even if strongly worded—does not constitute grounds for removal. The Platform does not conduct legal assessments of alleged inaccuracy or defamation and shall not remove content in the absence of a final and binding decision from a competent court.
- 10.7 Acceptance of Subjectivity & Reputation Risk : Service Providers acknowledge that reviews are inherently subjective and evaluation standards may vary. By participating on the Platform, Service Providers knowingly accept this reputational and commercial risk and waive any claim based solely on unfavorable opinions. Rated Marine Services, together with its owners, shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, affiliates, and any other related or associated persons or entities, expressly disclaim all liability arising from user-generated content to the fullest extent permitted by law.
- 10.8 Right to Respond – Not to Remove: Service Providers have the right to publish a professional response beneath reviews to clarify facts or present their perspective. However, they do not have the right to demand the modification or deletion of reviews that comply with the Platform’s verification and content rules.
- 10.9 Disclaimer of Platform Liability: Rated Marine Services, together with its owners, shareholders, directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, affiliates, and any other related or associated persons or entities shall not be held liable, under any circumstances, for any loss, damage, or negative consequence arising from published reviews and/or disputes between the parties. This disclaimer includes, but is not limited to: financial loss, loss of business, reputational harm, loss of data, time loss, money loss, or any other commercial or personal damage (direct or indirect). All users expressly agree that Rated Marine Services bears no legal responsibility for user-generated content and cannot be held liable for any damages arising from published opinions or any adverse situation arising between Service Providers and Service Receivers.
- 10.10 Explicit Acceptance Clause By registering, creating a profile, or purchasing a membership, Service Providers expressly confirm and agree that:
- • Reviews may be positive, neutral, or negative.
- • Reviews that comply with the Platform’s verification and content rules will not be removed upon request.
- • Only violations defined in Clause 10.5 justify removal.
- • Undue pressure or persistent disputes against the Platform to remove compliant content may result in immediate unilateral profile suspension or termination, without the requirement of a 30-day notice period.
- 11. Force Majeure : Neither party is liable for failure or delay due to circumstances beyond reasonable control (e.g., acts of God, war, natural disasters).
- 12. Termination
- • Either party may terminate with at least 30 days’ prior written notice.
- • Immediate Termination: The Platform reserves the right to terminate or suspend access immediately, without prior notice, for material breach (including violations of Section 10), unlawful activity, sanctions violation, or undue pressure/persistent disputes as specified in Clause 10.10.
- 13. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
- • This Agreement is governed by the laws of the Republic of Turkey.
- • All disputes shall be resolved exclusively by the Istanbul Anatolian Courts and Execution Offices.
- Contact Information
- • Rated Marine Services, Uğur Tufan Emeksiz, Atalar Mah. Dolunay Sok. Gönül Apt. No:14/8 Kartal, Istanbul, Turkey
- • Phone: +90 532 482 82 15
- • Email: operations@ratedmarineservices.com