I don’t know much about Admiralty Law, but it seems clear that the previous owners made a conscious decision to abandon the ship. That being the case, would it not belong to the first person who took possession of it?
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That would seem to be the case.
You are correct.
In the late 1970s, I came across a McDERMOTT launch barge adrift in the Mindoro Strait. I had a small supply boat with only 1600 HP but we secured a line to the barge and started towing it. Once that line was attached and I had control of the barge, and there were no owner personnel on board, it was mine.
The owner quite readily paid me US$125,000.00 to give it back. I was very happy.