(1) It is unlawful for any person, or corporation to store or leave any vessel in a wrecked, junked or substantially dismantled condition or abandoned upon any public waters or at any port in this territory without the consent of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources or docked at any private property without consent of the owner of the private property.
(2)
(a) The Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources is hereby designated as the agency of the territory authorized and empowered to remove any derelict vessel from public waters in any instance when the vessel obstructs or threatens to obstruct navigation, contributes to air or water pollution, or in any other way constitutes a danger or potential danger to the environment.
(b) The Department may take or cause a derelict vessel to be taken into custody immediately upon its discovery. Upon taking custody of a derelict vessel the Department shall concurrently:
(i) publish a notice of intended disposition once in a newspaper of general circulation;
(ii) when possible, post a notice of intended disposition on the vessel; and
(iii) serve a duplicate of the notice of intended disposition by certified mail, with a return receipt, on
(A) the registered owner of the vessel, if known, at the registered owner's last known address or the address on record with any department or the United States Coast Guard; and
(B) all lien holders who have filed a financing statement indexed in the name of the registered owner, or who are shown on the records of any department or the United States Coast Guard.
(c)
(1) If the vessel is not repossessed within 30 days after the publication or mailing of the notice, whichever occurs later, the Commissioner may dispose of the vessel by negotiated sale; except that when two or more prospective purchasers indicate an interest in purchasing the vessel, the Commissioner shall sell the vessel at public auction to the highest bidder in the manner as prescribed by rules and regulations promulgated hereunder
(2) If no prospective purchaser indicates a desire to purchase the vessel, the vessel may be properly disposed of as junk, donated to a governmental agency, or destroyed.
(d) This section is not intended to be in contravention of any applicable federal act.