A port disbursement account is the itemised statement of everything a vessel's port call cost, and understanding it means knowing the difference between the proforma estimate issued before arrival and the final account issued after departure, plus what each line item actually covers.
What a disbursement account is, in short
A port disbursement account, sometimes shortened to PDA for the proforma version and FDA for the final one, is the agent's itemised record of what a vessel's call at a port cost. It lists each service used and each fee charged, from official port and light dues to pilotage, towage, mooring, agency fees and any additional services requested during the call, and it is the document owners, operators and charterers rely on to understand what they are paying for and why.
The account matters for more than bookkeeping. It is what finance teams use to release funds, what operators check against the charter party to see who bears which cost, and what a P&I club or auditor may review if a dispute arises. A disbursement account that is clear and well supported saves everyone time later.
For a vessel calling regularly at the same Turkish ports, disbursement accounts also build into a useful record over time, letting the technical or operations team compare the cost of similar calls and notice if a particular charge has drifted upward without a clear explanation. That kind of record becomes even more valuable across a fleet using the same agent, since comparing costs between ports can reveal patterns that a single call would never show.
Proforma vs final account
Before the vessel arrives, the agent typically issues a proforma disbursement account, an estimate based on the expected scope of the call: standard port dues and pilotage for the vessel's size and type, anticipated towage, and any services already known to be needed. This estimate lets the owner or charterer arrange funds in advance and gives an early view of the likely cost of the call.
After the vessel sails, the agent reconciles the proforma against the actual invoices received from each service provider, be that the port authority, pilots, tugs or suppliers, and issues the final disbursement account. Differences between the proforma and final figures are normal, since some costs, such as extra time alongside or additional services requested during the call, are not known until they actually happen; what matters is that the final account explains any material difference rather than leaving it unexplained.
How long the reconciliation takes depends on how quickly the agent receives invoices from third parties such as the port authority or pilotage service; a final account is generally not issued until those figures are confirmed, since issuing it earlier would only mean revising it again shortly afterward.
What the line items typically cover
Most Turkish port disbursement accounts share a similar structure, even though exact amounts vary by port, vessel size and the services actually used. Common categories include port and light dues charged by the port authority, pilotage and towage for berthing and unberthing, mooring and unmooring, and the agency fee itself, which covers the agent's coordination work across the call.
Beyond these standard items, the account reflects whatever else the vessel requested: garbage or slop disposal, fresh water, launch hire for crew changes or surveys, communication costs, or any other service arranged through the agent. Because fees, port dues and local charges are set by each port authority or service provider and can change over time, a specific number is best confirmed with the agent for the port and dates in question rather than assumed from a previous call.
Some charges are calculated per call regardless of how long the vessel stays, while others scale with time alongside or with the size of the vessel; understanding which category a given line falls into makes it easier to judge whether an unusually long stay should be expected to change the total materially. Knowing this distinction in advance means the owner can anticipate which items will rise if the call is extended, rather than being surprised by the final figure. Questions like these are easier to answer before the account arrives than to raise retroactively once the final figure is already set. Asking the agent to walk through this breakdown before the call begins is a simple step that is often overlooked.
Reviewing and querying the account
A well-prepared disbursement account comes with supporting invoices or receipts for each significant line, so the recipient can trace a charge back to its source rather than taking the total figure on trust. Reviewing the account against the proforma, the actual port stay and the services known to have been used is a normal part of closing out a call, not a sign of distrust in the agent.
If a line item is unclear or looks out of line with expectations, the sensible step is to ask the agent directly rather than dispute it after the fact through a broker or a third party. A competent agent will explain the charge, point to the underlying invoice, and correct any genuine error quickly, since disbursement accounts that go unquestioned for too long are harder to resolve later.
Setting a routine, such as reviewing every disbursement account within a set number of days of receipt, keeps queries close to the event while details are still fresh for the agent and any third-party provider involved, rather than resurfacing months later when memories and records are harder to reconstruct. Putting this routine in place is not a heavy administrative burden; it usually amounts to checking each account against a short list as soon as it arrives.
Why a transparent account matters
Turkish ports vary in scale and in how their fees and services are structured, so the disbursement account is often the clearest single document showing what actually happened during a call: which services were used, when, and at what cost. Treating it as a working record rather than a formality helps owners and operators spot patterns across calls, such as a port where certain services are consistently more or less expensive than expected.
Yeke Denizcilik prepares disbursement accounts as part of its agency service across Turkish ports, itemising each charge with supporting documentation so that owners and operators can see exactly what was arranged and why, rather than reconciling a lump sum after the fact.
Ultimately, the value of a well-kept disbursement account extends beyond any single call. Over a series of port visits it becomes a reliable basis for budgeting future voyages, and a useful reference if the vessel returns to the same port under different commercial terms. That turns the disbursement account from a one-off document into an ongoing asset the owner retains.