I found a boat adrift at sea: can I keep it?

Published on 27 October 2026· By Ricard Prehn, professional recreational skipper (PPER), Spanish Yacht Captain (capitán de yate), Yacht Captain up to 200 GT and sailing instructor for over 27 years

First things first: where is the crew?

A boat with nobody on board, engine stopped or sails flapping, is not a gift from the sea. Most likely it has broken loose from a mooring or an anchorage. But it may also be that someone has fallen overboard and the boat has carried on alone. That is the first possibility you must rule out.

So, before anything else:

1. Call Maritime Rescue (Salvamento Marítimo) on VHF channel 16, on 900 202 202 or on 112. Give your position (from the GPS, in degrees and minutes), the time, what the boat looks like (approximate length, colour, sail or motor), the name or registration if you can read it on the hull, and whether you can see anyone on board or in the water.
2. Look around before you approach: a head in the water, a lifejacket, a buoy. If there is a person in the water, you are no longer dealing with a find, you are dealing with a rescue, and the law requires you to help as long as you can do so without seriously endangering your boat or your crew (art. 183.3 of the Spanish Maritime Navigation Act and art. 10 of the 1989 Salvage Convention).
3. Take photos of the boat, its name and registration, and note the position and time. They will help if you later need to prove what you found and where.

Even if you do nothing else, the call is useful: a boat adrift is a hazard to navigation, especially at night, and Maritime Rescue can broadcast a warning to other vessels in the area. For how to make a distress call properly, see the MAYDAY call step by step.

Recovering a boat adrift is salvage

This is where the legal part begins. In Spain, since 2014, all this has been governed by the Maritime Navigation Act 14/2014 (Ley 14/2014 de Navegación Marítima, the “LNM”), which replaced the old Act 60/1962 on assistance, salvage, towage and finds. If you read rules from that old law on a forum, they no longer apply.

The LNM does not talk about a “find” as if it were a wallet lost in the street. It says something more specific (art. 358.4):

The discovery and immediate recovery of property abandoned in the waters or on their coasts shall be considered salvage.

In other words, if you find an abandoned boat and recover it, in the eyes of the law you are a salvor. And salvage is governed by the 1989 International Convention on Salvage (London), which Spain ratified in 2005, supplemented by the LNM chapter on salvage (arts. 357 to 368).

That is why the Civil Code rule for things lost on land (return it or hand it to the town hall and collect a tenth of its value) does not apply. The Civil Code itself says that what is found at sea is governed by “special laws” (art. 617).

Can I keep it?

Not straight away. The boat still has an owner even if it is adrift. What the law says is this (art. 368 of the LNM):

1. Report it to the Navy at the first port you reach. If the boat’s owner is unknown, you have a duty to report it. In practice, the simplest thing is to tell Maritime Rescue by radio and, on arrival, the Harbour Master’s Office (Capitanía Marítima) at the port, which will tell you where to hand it in. The body that handles finds in the Navy is the local Permanent Maritime Court (Juzgado Marítimo Permanente; in Catalonia, No. 1 in Barcelona), until the Maritime Arbitration Council provided for by the law is created.
2. The Navy opens a file to find the owner. If the boat is registered in another country, it notifies that country’s consul.
3. Meanwhile, you look after it. You may keep the boat and you must keep it in good condition. Ports are obliged to let it enter and stay, although they may charge for it.

Then there are two possible endings.

If the owner turns up, the Navy tells you who it is. The owner has to accept that you return the boat, and you are entitled to the conservation costs and the salvage award. You may also hold the boat until the owner gives you sufficient security for your claim (art. 365).

If nobody appears within six months, the Navy values the boat:

Valuation	What happens	What you get
Up to €3,000	The boat is yours	The boat, once the file costs are paid
Over €3,000	Sold at public auction	€3,000 + a third of the amount above €3,000 + your expenses. The rest goes to the Treasury

An example: a second-hand sailboat auctioned for €30,000. You receive €3,000 plus a third of the remaining €27,000 (€9,000), that is, €12,000 plus the expenses you have had, after deducting the file costs.

If what you find on board is prohibited goods (weapons, drugs), the Navy disposes of them as the law provides and no award applies (art. 368.5 and 381). It goes without saying that in that case you touch nothing and report it immediately.

And if I keep it without telling anyone?

Then you are no longer a salvor. You are keeping something that has an owner, and that is misappropriation (art. 254 of the Spanish Criminal Code): a fine of three to six months, or one to two months if the value does not exceed €400. And you lose the award the law would have given you for doing it right.

Besides, a boat has a hull number, a registration and, often, an engine with a serial number. Selling it, registering it in your name or insuring it without papers is not as easy as it sounds.

Can I tow it?

Yes, if you can do it safely. Taking it to port is exactly the salvage that earns an award. But be clear on three things:

• You are not obliged to save a boat. The legal duty is to rescue people. Saving property is voluntary and, if it goes wrong, the towing, the manoeuvre or any damage to your boat is at your own cost: the Convention only pays for a useful result (art. 12). This is the famous “no cure, no pay”.
• Towing at sea is not like towing in a harbour. A boat with nobody at the helm sheers about, the line snatches and a wave can put it on top of your stern. In rough weather or with a big boat, the sensible thing is to call Maritime Rescue and stay nearby until someone properly equipped arrives.
• Coordinate with Maritime Rescue. The Maritime Authority can intervene in any salvage operation in Spanish waters and give you instructions you must follow (art. 367).

If there is someone on the boat and they tell you they do not want to be towed, and the refusal is reasonable, you will have no right to an award (art. 364). And if people on board ask you for a tow without being in danger, for example because they have lost their engine in good weather, that is not salvage: it is a casual tow (art. 305). You are entitled to adequate remuneration even if you do not reach port in the end, but it is better to agree terms before passing the line.

Do I need permission to tow it?

No. Neither the Maritime Navigation Act nor the Salvage Convention requires prior authorisation to salvage a boat that is afloat. The only Navy authorisations are for searching for or raising sunken wrecks (arts. 376 and 377). What is compulsory is to report to the Navy afterwards, on reaching port (art. 368).

Even so, call on the radio before passing the line. Call Maritime Rescue on channel 16, give the position and description of the boat and say something like “I offer to tow it to Port Garraf”. There are four good reasons:

1. People may be missing from that boat. Maritime Rescue may already be searching, and the position where you found it is a key clue.
2. Someone may already be on the way: a Maritime Rescue vessel or a tug hired by the owner.
3. There is a record of the time, position and condition of the boat. It will help you with the Navy and if you claim the award.
4. They may give you instructions you will have to follow (art. 367), for example which port to take it to.

Also call the destination port on its channel before arriving. It is obliged to let you in with what you have salved (art. 368.6), but it needs to prepare a berth for you.

What about towing lights and shapes? Is it an illegal tow if I do not have them?

No. Under the COLREGs, a sailboat towing under engine is a power-driven vessel towing (Rule 24):

• By day no shape is needed. The diamond shape is only required if the tow is longer than 200 metres, which does not happen with a pleasure boat.
• At night, the general rule asks for towing lights: two masthead lights in a vertical line and the yellow towing light above the stern light. Almost no sailboat carries them.
• That is what Rule 24(i) is for: a vessel not normally engaged in towing is not obliged to show those lights when towing another vessel in distress or otherwise in need of assistance. She must, however, take all possible measures to indicate that she is towing, for example lighting the tow line and the towed boat with a spotlight.
• The same goes for the towed boat (Rule 24(h)): if she cannot show her lights, because nobody is on board or her battery is flat, she lights herself or signals as best she can so that she can be seen.

And if you are sailing at night with a tow, say so on channel 16 so that vessels in the area know.

How much is the salvage award?

There is no fixed percentage. The 1989 Convention (art. 13) says the reward must encourage salvage and calculates it using criteria such as:

• the value of the boat and what it carries;
• the danger it was in and what you have managed to save;
• the risk run by you and your boat;
• the time, the expenses and the losses you have incurred;
• the promptness and skill with which you acted;
• what you did to prevent damage to the environment (a boat with diesel on board that ends up on the rocks also pollutes).

The cap is clear: never more than the value of the salved boat (art. 362 of the LNM). If you agree with the owner, perfect. If not, you can choose between the Navy’s arbitration bodies (the Maritime Arbitration Council) or a civil judge. To claim, you have two years (art. 23 of the Convention).

One detail for those who sail on someone else’s boat: when the salvor is a vessel with a hired crew, the law splits the award one third for the shipowner and two thirds for the crew, unless otherwise agreed (art. 363).

And beyond 12 miles? International waters

This is a very common doubt: “beyond 12 miles it is international waters and nobody is in charge”. It is not quite like that. The sea zones, according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Montego Bay, 1982), are:

Zone	Distance from the coast	For a find
Internal waters and territorial sea	Up to 12 miles	Spanish sovereignty: the whole LNM applies
Contiguous zone	12 to 24 miles	Spain controls, among other things, archaeological objects on the seabed
Exclusive economic zone	Up to 200 miles	In the north-western Mediterranean, since 2013 (Royal Decree 236/2013)
High seas	Beyond	No coastal State, but not without law

For a boat floating adrift, distance makes little difference:

• The duty to rescue people exists in any sea (art. 98 of the Law of the Sea Convention and art. 10 of the Salvage Convention).
• The Salvage Convention applies in “any waters”, not only Spanish ones. Most coastal countries have signed it.
• The duty in art. 368 is triggered on arrival in port: if you take what you have salved to a Spanish port, you report to the Navy just as if you had found it at the harbour entrance.
• And if you sail under the Spanish flag, Spanish law follows you wherever you go.

Where distance does matter is for sunken wrecks, which have their own rules.

If the boat is sunken: do not touch it

A boat on the seabed is not a boat adrift. The LNM (arts. 369 to 383) says:

• The owner does not lose ownership because the boat sinks. It only stops being theirs if they expressly abandon it, for example by ceding it to their insurer (art. 373).
• If it is in internal waters or the territorial sea (up to 12 miles), it passes to the State after three years from the sinking (art. 374). If it is further out, it passes to the State only if it belonged to a Spaniard.
• To explore, search for or raise it you need Navy authorisation (arts. 376 and 377). Diving on a wreck and taking things away is not finding them.
• If it is an old wreck, it is underwater cultural heritage: it is not salvage (art. 358.3), it is public domain and must be reported immediately (Historical Heritage Act 16/1985, art. 44). Beyond the territorial sea the 2001 UNESCO Convention applies, to which Spain is a party, and in the contiguous zone removing an archaeological object without permission is punishable as if it were in Spanish territory (art. 383).
• Sunken Spanish warships and State vessels always belong to the State, wherever they are (art. 382).

In short, if you find a boat adrift

1. Look for people and call Maritime Rescue (channel 16, 900 202 202 or 112) with the position.
2. Photos, name, registration, position and time.
3. If you can tow it safely, coordinate with Maritime Rescue. If not, stay nearby or carry on once you have raised the alarm.
4. On reaching port, report it to the Navy. Keep the boat and look after it.
5. Wait: either the owner appears and you collect the award, or after six months the Navy values it and gives you what the law provides.
6. Never keep it without telling anyone.

All of this (how to call for help by radio, what to do if someone falls overboard, how to pass a tow) is part of what is learned on the PER course and in the practical sessions. Not to go out looking for boats adrift, but to know what to do the day you find one.

The laws cited

All of them can be read in Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE), in Spanish:

• Maritime Navigation Act 14/2014 (Ley de Navegación Marítima): art. 183 (master’s duty to assist), art. 305 (emergency towage), arts. 357-368 (salvage: definition, award, right of retention, intervention by the authorities and property of unknown ownership), arts. 369-383 (wrecks and sunken vessels), second additional provision (Maritime Arbitration Council) and first transitional provision (Permanent Maritime Courts).
• International Convention on Salvage, London, 1989 (ratified by Spain, BOE 8 March 2005): art. 1 (definitions), art. 10 (duty to render assistance to persons), art. 12 (no useful result, no payment), art. 13 (criteria for the reward), art. 19 (prohibition of salvage) and art. 23 (two-year time limit).
• International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs), 1972 (BOE 9 July 1977): Rule 24 (h) and (i) (towing lights and shapes when they cannot be shown).
• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Montego Bay, 1982 (BOE no. 39, 14 February 1997): art. 98 (duty to render assistance) and maritime zones.
• Royal Decree 236/2013: Spain’s exclusive economic zone in the north-western Mediterranean.
• Spanish Civil Code: arts. 615-616 (finding lost property on land) and art. 617 (things found at sea are governed by special laws).
• Spanish Criminal Code: art. 254 (misappropriation).
• Spanish Historical Heritage Act 16/1985: art. 44 (archaeological finds).
• UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, 2001 (BOE 5 March 2009).

This article summarises the rules in force on 27 October 2026 (Maritime Navigation Act 14/2014, 1989 Salvage Convention, Civil Code, Criminal Code and Act 16/1985). It is not legal advice: in a real case, follow the instructions of Maritime Rescue and the Navy. The rules described are Spanish law and apply in Spanish waters and ports.

Frequently asked questions

If I find an abandoned boat at sea, is it mine?

Not automatically. The Spanish Maritime Navigation Act (art. 368) requires you to report it to the Navy at the first port of call. The Navy looks for the owner for six months. If nobody appears and the boat is worth €3,000 or less, it becomes yours once the file costs are paid. If it is worth more, it is auctioned and you receive €3,000 plus a third of the excess and your expenses.

Can I tow a boat I find adrift?

Yes, if you can do it without endangering your own boat or crew. Towing it to port is a salvage operation and gives you a right to an award if it succeeds. But you are not obliged to save a boat: the duty is to rescue people. Before towing, tell Maritime Rescue, who may give you instructions or send someone else.

Do I need radio permission to tow a boat adrift?

It is not compulsory: the law does not require prior authorisation to salvage a boat that is afloat, only to report it to the Navy on arrival in port. But it is wise to call Maritime Rescue on channel 16 before you start: people may be missing, someone may already be on the way, and they can give you instructions you will have to follow.

Do I need towing lights or shapes on a sailboat?

Not by day, unless the tow is longer than 200 metres. At night, COLREGs Rule 24(i) exempts a vessel not normally engaged in towing from showing the towing lights when she tows another vessel in distress, as long as she shows by any means she can that she is towing, for example by lighting the tow line and the towed boat with a spotlight.

What salvage award am I entitled to if the owner turns up?

There is no fixed percentage. The 1989 Salvage Convention (art. 13) sets it according to the value of the salved boat, the danger, the risk you ran, the time, the expenses and your skill. It can never exceed the value of what was saved. If you cannot agree, it is decided by the Navy (the Maritime Arbitration Council) or a civil judge.

What happens if I keep the boat without telling anyone?

It is misappropriation of another person's property (art. 254 of the Spanish Criminal Code): a fine of three to six months, or one to two months if the value does not exceed €400. You also lose the right to the award the law would have given you.

Does Spanish law stop applying beyond 12 miles?

It still applies. The territorial sea ends at 12 miles, but the International Salvage Convention applies in any waters, and so does the duty to rescue people. If you take what you have salved to a Spanish port, the procedure with the Navy is the same. The 12 miles do matter for sunken wrecks: inside them, they pass to the State after three years.

And if what I find is a sunken wreck?

It is not the same as a boat afloat. The owner of a sunken boat does not lose ownership by the sinking; in Spanish waters it passes to the State after three years. Exploring or raising it needs Navy authorisation. If it is an old wreck, it is underwater cultural heritage: report it immediately and do not touch it.

Who do I call if I see a boat adrift?

Maritime Rescue (Salvamento Marítimo): VHF channel 16, 900 202 202 or 112. Give your position, a description of the boat, its name or registration if visible and whether anyone is on board. Even if you do not want to recover it, a boat adrift is a hazard to navigation and they can warn other vessels.