(a) The Department of Natural Resources shall prescribe and provide suitable forms of applications, certificates of title, notices of security interests, and all other notices and forms necessary to carry out the provisions of this Article and Article IIIA.
     (b) The Department of Natural Resources may:
        1. Make necessary investigations to procure
    
information required to carry out the provisions of this Article and Article IIIA;
        2. Assign a new identifying number to a watercraft if
    
it has none, or its identifying number is destroyed or obliterated, and shall either issue a new certificate of title showing the new identifying number or make an appropriate endorsement on the original certificate.