1547.303 Disposing of abandoned vessel or motor. - Ohio Statutes

1547.303 Disposing of abandoned vessel or motor.

(A) As used in this section and section 1547.304 of the Revised Code:

(1) “Abandoned junk vessel or outboard motor” means any vessel or outboard motor meeting all of the following requirements:

(a) It has been left on private property for at least seventy-two hours without the permission of the person having the right to the possession of the property; left in a sunken, beached, or drifting condition for any period of time; or left in a docked condition, on a public street or other property open to the public, or upon or within the right-of-way of any waterway, road, or highway, for forty-eight hours or longer without notification to the sheriff of the county, the chief of police of the municipal corporation, township, or township police district, or other chief of a law enforcement agency, having territorial jurisdiction with respect to the location of the vessel or motor, of the reasons for leaving the vessel or motor in any such place or condition;

(b) It is three years old, or older;

(c) It is extensively damaged, such damage including but not limited to any of the following: missing deck, hull, transom, gunwales, motor, or outdrive;

(d) It is apparently inoperable;

(e) It has a fair market value of two hundred dollars or less.

(2) “Law enforcement agency” means any organization or unit comprised of law enforcement officers, as defined in section 2901.01 of the Revised Code.

(B) The sheriff of a county, chief of police of a municipal corporation, township, or township police district, or other chief of a law enforcement agency, within the sheriff’s or chief’s respective territorial jurisdiction, or a state highway patrol trooper, upon notification to the sheriff or chief of such action, shall order any abandoned junk vessel or outboard motor to be photographed by a law enforcement officer. The officer shall record the make of vessel or motor, the hull identification number or serial number when available, and shall also detail the damage or missing equipment to substantiate the value of two hundred dollars or less. The sheriff or chief shall thereupon immediately dispose of the abandoned junk vessel or outboard motor to a marine salvage dealer or other facility owned, operated, or under contract to the state, the county, township, or municipal corporation for the destruction of such vessels or motors. The records and photographs relating to the abandoned junk vessel or outboard motor shall be retained by the law enforcement agency ordering the disposition of the vessel or motor for a period of at least two years. The law enforcement agency shall execute in quadruplicate an affidavit, as prescribed by the chief of the division of watercraft, describing the vessel or motor and the manner in which it was disposed of, and that all requirements of this section have been complied with, and shall sign and file the same with the clerk of courts of the county in which the vessel or motor was abandoned. The clerk of courts shall retain the original of the affidavit for the clerk’s files, shall furnish one copy thereof to the chief of the division of watercraft, one copy to the marine salvage dealer or other facility handling the disposal of the vessel or motor, and one copy to the law enforcement agency ordering the disposal, who shall file such copy with the records and photographs relating to the disposal. Any moneys arising from the disposal of an abandoned junk vessel or outboard motor shall be credited to the general revenue fund, or to the general fund of the county, township, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision, as appropriate.

Notwithstanding section 1547.301 of the Revised Code, any vessel or outboard motor meeting the requirements of divisions (A)(1)(c) to (e) of this section which has remained unclaimed by the owner or lienholder for a period of ten days or longer following notification as provided in section 1547.301 of the Revised Code may be disposed of as provided in this section.

Effective Date: 09-06-1996