§200-16 Unauthorized vessels; impoundment and disposal proceedings. (a) A vessel moored without a valid use permit or moored with a use permit that has expired or been terminated shall be deemed an unauthorized vessel in violation of this section and shall be subject to impoundment and disposal.
(b) The department shall place upon, or as near to an unauthorized vessel as possible, a notice to remove the vessel, which shall, at a minimum, indicate that the vessel is in violation of this section, the date and time the notice was posted, and that the vessel shall be removed within seventy-two hours of the time that the notice was posted; provided that if the vessel is in imminent danger of breaking up on state submerged land, a shoreline, or a coral reef, the notice shall indicate that the owner shall commence effective salvage operations within twenty-four hours of the time that the notice was posted.
(c) An unauthorized vessel may be impounded by the department at the sole risk and expense of the owner of the vessel if the vessel is not removed after the period specified in subsection (b). Calculation of the time period shall not restart if, during that period, the vessel is moved anywhere in the waters of the State or to any public property and remains in violation of this section. The owner of the vessel shall be solely responsible for all costs of the impoundment and the disposal of the unauthorized vessel. All owners of unauthorized vessels that are impounded by the department shall be responsible for paying impound storage fees to the department while the vessel remains impounded and until the time that the vessel is returned to the custody of a person entitled to possession. Impound storage fees shall be equal to the rate set by the department for vessels moored without a valid permit. Any proceeds collected by the department in relation to the impoundment and the disposal of the unauthorized vessel shall be used first to pay for the costs of impoundment and disposal, then to pay for any additional costs related to the impoundment and disposal, then to pay for any outstanding mooring fees due to the department from the owner, and then to the general fund. If the proceeds resulting from the impoundment and the disposal are inadequate to pay for all costs and mooring fees due, the owner of the unauthorized vessel shall remain liable for paying the department any and all outstanding costs and mooring fees due.
(d) Custody of an unauthorized vessel shall be returned to the person entitled to possession only upon payment in full of all fees and costs due to the department and any and all fines levied by the department or a court of competent jurisdiction. In addition, the department, within seventy-two hours of impoundment, shall send by certified mail, return receipt requested, a notice of impoundment to the registered or documented owner or any lien holder or operator of the impounded vessel on record with the department or the United States Coast Guard. The owner, lien holder, or operator of the impounded vessel shall have five working days after receipt of notice of impoundment of the vessel to request an administrative hearing. A request for an administrative hearing under this subsection shall:
(1) Be made in writing to the department;
(2) Not be deemed delivered until the time that the department receives the written request; and
(3) Be solely for the purpose of allowing the owner, lien holder, or operator of an impounded vessel to contest the basis given by the department for the impoundment of the vessel.
The administrative hearing shall be held within five working days of delivery of the written request. The department may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to implement the requirement for this post-seizure administrative hearing process.
(e) Any unauthorized vessel impounded under this section that remains unclaimed for more than ten working days by the registered or documented owner, a lien holder, or operator of record may be sold by the department at public auction. If the department does not, or is unable to, sell the vessel at public auction, the department, after giving public notice of intended disposition, if that notice was not previously included in a public auction notice, may sell the vessel by negotiation, retain and use the vessel, donate the vessel to any other government agency, or dispose of the vessel as junk. [L 1991, c 272, pt of §2; am L 1994, c 113, §2; am L 2004, c 70, §1; am L 2013, c 121, §1; am L 2021, c 218, §2]
Note
The amendment made by L 2014, c 218, §8 is not included in this section.
Case Notes
Impoundment fees set by State not unlawful where no evidence to suggest that charges were arbitrary or unfounded. 91 H. 1, 979 P.2d 586 (1999).
Section does not provide statutory mechanism for recouping fees assessed against vessel owner for unauthorized mooring of vessel prior to non-repossessed vessel's impoundment. 91 H. 1, 979 P.2d 586 (1999).