---
title: "List the marking and removal duties after a vessel sinks in a navigable channel"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/maritime-shipping-and-transport/build-a-wreck-removal-and-salvage-obligations-table/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A37-T1-R14-US"
practice_area: "Maritime, Shipping & Transport"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# List the marking and removal duties after a vessel sinks in a navigable channel

> Record whether the papers say the craft is wrecked and sunk in a navigable channel, who is named as owner, lessee, or operator, and what marking is already described. Do not decide that the craft has been abandoned.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/maritime-shipping-and-transport/build-a-wreck-removal-and-salvage-obligations-table/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Maritime, Shipping & Transport](https://ailawframework.com/practice/maritime-shipping-and-transport.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Record whether the papers say the craft is wrecked and sunk in a navigable channel, who is named as owner, lessee, or operator, and what marking is already described. Do not decide that the craft has been abandoned. |
| What the lawyer must review | 33 USC section 409 makes it unlawful to sink, or permit or cause to be sunk, a vessel in a navigable channel. When a vessel is wrecked and sunk in a navigable channel, the owner, lessee, or operator must immediately mark it with a buoy or beacon by day and, unless the Commandant of the Coast Guard grants a waiver, a light at night, and must maintain the marks until the craft is removed or abandoned. That person must commence immediate removal and prosecute it diligently. Failure to do so is an abandonment and subjects the craft to removal by the United States under sections 411 to 416, 418, and 502, which were not opened. The Commandant may waive the night light if placing it would be impractical and the waiver would not create an undue hazard to navigation. This section does not state a salvage award. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Build a wreck-removal and salvage obligations table](https://ailawframework.com/practice/maritime-shipping-and-transport/build-a-wreck-removal-and-salvage-obligations-table.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Record whether the papers say the craft is wrecked and sunk in a navigable channel, who is named as owner, lessee, or operator, and what marking is already described. Do not decide that the craft has been abandoned.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- The removal sections named in section 409 were not opened. Do not describe the United States remedy beyond the cross-reference.
- A contractual salvage claim is not this statute.

## Sources

- [33 USC section 409 (obstruction of navigable waters and removal of sunken vessels)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/33/409) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [ABA Formal Opinion 512, Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools (29 July 2024)](https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/professional_responsibility/ethics-opinions/aba-formal-opinion-512.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [28 USC section 1333 (admiralty and maritime jurisdiction)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1333) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*