(a) Authority.—The Secretary of the Navy may use for experimental purposes any vessel stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.

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(b) Stripping and Environmental Remediation of Vessel.—(1) Before using a vessel for an experimental purpose pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall carry out such stripping of the vessel as is practicable and such environmental remediation of the vessel as is required for the use of the vessel for experimental purposes.

(2) Material and equipment stripped from a vessel under paragraph (1) may be sold by the contractor or by a sales agent approved by the Secretary.

(3) Amounts received as proceeds from the stripping of a vessel pursuant to this subsection shall be credited to appropriations available for the procurement of services needed for such stripping and for environmental remediation required for the use of the vessel for experimental purposes. Amounts received in excess of amounts needed for reimbursement of those costs shall be deposited into the account from which the stripping and environmental remediation expenses were incurred and shall be available for stripping and environmental remediation of other vessels to be used for experimental purposes.

(c) Use for Experimental Purposes Defined.—In this section, the term “use for experimental purposes”, with respect to a vessel, includes use of the vessel in a Navy sink exercise or for target purposes.