The primary function of the Marine Theft Unit (MTU) is to provide assistance to law enforcement officers in the field. These requests consist of computer database searches, offline searches for stolen vessels, location of hidden hull identification numbers, and assistance with locating and recovering stolen vessels.

The MTU also serves as the point of contact for customers as well as court systems related to abandoned vessels.

Last year, the MTU received 35 abandoned vessel requests from the public and fielded numerous phone calls related to abandoned vessels.