Nevada Revised Statutes 488.291 – Abandonment prohibited; evidence of responsibility for abandonment; removal of vessel from public waterway
1. A person shall not abandon a vessel upon a public waterway or public or private property without the consent of the owner or person in lawful possession or control of the property.
Terms Used In Nevada Revised Statutes 488.291
- Department: means the Department of Wildlife. See Nevada Revised Statutes 488.035
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Owner: means :
(a) A person having all the incidents of ownership, including the legal title of a vessel, whether or not he or she lends, rents or pledges the vessel;
(b) A debtor under a security agreement relating to a vessel; or
(c) A person, other than a secured party, who has a property right with regard to a human-powered vessel, including, without limitation, a person entitled to use or possess a human-powered vessel subject to a security interest of another person. See Nevada Revised Statutes 488.035
- Person: has the meaning ascribed to it in Nevada Revised Statutes 488.035
- Registered owner: means the person registered by the Department as the owner of a vessel. See Nevada Revised Statutes 488.035
- Vessel: means every description of watercraft, other than a seaplane on the water, used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water. See Nevada Revised Statutes 488.035
2. The abandonment of any vessel in a manner prohibited by subsection 1 is prima facie evidence that the last registered owner of record, unless the registered owner has notified the Department or other appropriate agency of his or her relinquishment of title or interest therein, is responsible for the abandonment. The person so responsible is liable for the cost of removal and disposition of the vessel.
3. A game warden, sheriff or other peace officer of this state may remove or order the removal of a vessel from a public waterway when:
(a) The vessel is left unattended and is adrift, moored, docked, beached, run aground, trailered or made fast to land in:
(1) Such a position as to interfere with navigation;
(2) Such a condition as to create a hazard to other vessels using the waterway, to public safety or to the property of another; or
(3) A location owned or administered by a public entity.
(b) The vessel is found upon a waterway and a report has previously been made that the vessel has been stolen or embezzled.
(c) The person in charge of the vessel is by reason of physical injuries or illness incapacitated to such an extent as to be unable to provide for its custody or removal.
(d) An officer arrests a person operating or in control of the vessel for an alleged offense, and the officer is required or permitted to take, and does take, the person arrested before a magistrate without unnecessary delay.
(e) The vessel seriously interferes with navigation or otherwise poses a critical and immediate danger to navigation or to the public health, safety or welfare.