legalities to finding sunken jet ski?
Question by Mark T: legalities to finding sunken jet ski?
I found a newer sunken sea doo jet ski. What legal steps should take to make some money from salvaging this sunken sea doo. It looks like it had bee sunk for 3+ days. It took a while but I was able to get the seadoo righted but it was full of water. When it was all said and done i had drug it and gotten it on a empty ski trailer and now it is at my place of business. I want to do the legal thing. What steps do I take?
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3 Responses to legalities to finding sunken jet ski?
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You will have to ask the owner! three to four days is too shorter period to assume it has been abandoned!
OK turn your question around!
You have an acident on your much loved jet ski!
Sadly it sinks!
You don’t have the equipment to raise it!
Four days later you pay some body to do the job for you only to be told it has been removed by a THIEF!
How would you like it and feel about the person who made money out of your misfoutune?
Swift Arrow
October 12, 2013 at 11:06 pm
I believe you should contact the police, it may have been stolen. They should be able to track down the owner from the registration number. If they do not find an owner it could be yours.
mark t
October 13, 2013 at 12:05 am
Contact your state police/constable division. May be a Marine and Fisheries thing, you never said what state, it matters.
You have stolen some other persons property. Think about it, you located it, did a salvage operation and even went so far as to attain a recovery trailer.
Contact the Fish and Wildlife or State Police, that is Maritime Law is also State laws, and there is a number or #id on that vessel that is not yours, seriously, contact an Officer of Law or the USCG.
If your story and the paperwork check out, you can claim salvage rights, but you did not know about that so you basically stole a possibly stolen vessel, that is all kinds of Federal Laws that will take thousands in attorney fees for a $ 200 scrap hull.
I live in Florida, a buddy of mine had his boat sink in a storm, thieves came along in the night and stripped the vessel of $ 25k in gear, they are in prison now, so please contact the DMV, Local and State police before you do anything else.
That is all kinds of different Laws, including International Maritime Law.
Yawn Gnome
October 13, 2013 at 12:19 am