P.R. Laws tit. 12, § 1406
(1) Every vessel that is subject to numbering or registration that is in the waters of the Commonwealth shall be numbered and identified with a common or proper name, duly registered in the Department, with the exception of a ship to which the Reciprocity Act applies as provided in this section. No person shall operate or give permission to operate any vessel in said waters, unless:
(a) Said vessel is numbered and labeled pursuant to this chapter, or in accordance with a numbering system of another state, approved by the Government of the United States of America, or is a foreign flag vessel; Provided, That if it is numbered and labeled according to this chapter, the identification number and the name shall be of the size and form required in the rules and regulations of the Department, and shall always be legible and visible. The norms and regulations that are promulgated by the Department for the size and form of the identification number and name, shall also apply in those cases that the sixty (60) day term of reciprocity has elapsed, as provided in this section;
(b) the certificate of number assigned to said ship or vessel is in full force and vigor, and
(c) the identification number indicated in the certificate of number of the vessel is affixed in a visible place on each side or on the place determined by regulations according to the type of vessel. In the event that the vessel is registered with a proper or common name in the Department, said name shall also be affixed on the bow or the place determined by regulations. It shall also be necessary for each vessel that is in the territorial waters of the Commonwealth, be registered and shall pay the annual registration fee, as established in this chapter, except in the case of those that are exempted from registration, pursuant to this section.
(2) The application for registration or transfer shall include evidence of legal title to the vessel; the corresponding payment of fees to the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico. In addition, the applicant shall present evidence of having filed his/her income tax return, through a certification of the Department of the Treasury to said effect, or a certified copy of the return, if bound to file the same, for the taxable year immediately prior to the date of said application. In the event there is no evidence of title, an authorization shall be procured that consists of a sworn statement, along with a certification of the Office the General Prosecutor of the Department of Justice that accredits that the ship or vessel is not subject to a criminal suit. The fees to be paid shall be determined according to the class of ship, as classified in the following table:
CLASSIFICATION OF BOATS, SHIPS, NAVIGATION VESSELS AND CROSS-COUNTRY VEHICLES CLASS SIZE RATE class 1 less than 16 feet long $ 25 class 2 16 feet or more but less than 22 feet 50 class 3 22 feet or more but less than 30 feet 100 class 4 30 or more but less than 40 feet 200 class 5 40 feet or more but less than 65 feet 300 class 6 65 feet or more 400
With the exception that every ship or boat, or vessel used exclusively by its owner as his/her sole instrument of work in commercial fishing, or that is operated by its own owner for hire for recreational purposes, shall pay a registration fee of five dollars ($5).
(3) The Department shall issue a certificate to the owner of the vessel or ship attesting to the size, amount of payment and the municipality in which the vessel is located. This certificate shall be issued upon presentation of the application for registration. The owner of the vessel shall present it to the Collector of Internal Revenue for the payment of the corresponding fees, and he shall issue a duly stamped copy of the receipt, which shall always be available for inspection when so requested by the police officers. The Department shall register the vessel, assigning the corresponding number and name to it, and shall present the stamp upon presentation of the receipt issued by the Collector of Internal Revenue. [Said stamp shall be adhered to the vessel in a visible place, on the right side of the bow. For the annual renewal, the Department will issue notice of the stamp’s renewal, upon payment of corresponding fees, as established in this chapter.]
(4) The Secretary of the Department is hereby empowered, pursuant to, and in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, to use the services of collaborating entities such as banks, distributors of navigation vehicles and ships for the collection of fees and granting of registration stickers, and establishing the regulations that describe the procedures. The owner of every ship manufactured since January 1, 1998, which should be registered pursuant to Section 17, and is under class 3, 4, 5 and 6, shall have to procure evidence from the Department of the Treasury of the payment of excise taxes imposed under Section 2015 of Act No. 120 of October 31, 1994, known as the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code. Provided, That the Department shall not register any ship that does not show that it has complied with the corresponding payment of excise taxes. The statement of excise taxes or the receipt for payment issued by a Collector of Internal Revenue, shall be admitted as evidence thereof. Excepted from this obligation are the ships with documents issued by the Coast Guard Service and foreign flag vessels.
(5) The sticker of every ship shall be renewed each year, upon payment of the annual fee to the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary shall establish a staggered system for the payment of fees and the renewal of stickers as established in this section.
The Department shall remit the notice of renewal of registration to the owners of ships, annually, which shall be presented to the Collector of Internal Revenue when paying the annual renewal fee. Upon receiving the application and evidence of payment of the corresponding fee, the Department shall register the ship and issue a certificate of numbering to the applicant, except in those cases that the reciprocity act applies, in which case no number shall be issued, although it will be registered stating the number assigned to it, the name, Social Security number, and address of the owner or agent in Puerto Rico, the location thereof and a description of the ship.
The owner of any ship covered by a number in effect which has been assigned to it by virtue of a federal law, or by a state numbering system approved by the federal government, who wishes to operate said ship in Commonwealth waters, after the sixty (60) -day reciprocity term provided in this section has elapsed, shall register said number through the procedure established in this section. In this case, the Department shall issue additional or substitute numbers.
(6) The owner of any ship shall have the following civil obligations and responsibilities:
(a) Shall affix the number on each side of the bow of the ship, the identification name on the bow in the form and size provided in this section.
(b) The certificate of number shall be pocket-size and shall be available for inspection at all times for inspection on the ship for which it has been issued while said ship in being operated.
(c) If the ship changes ownership, the owner or vendor shall file an application at the Department to register it in the name of the new owner.
(d) The former owner shall provide information to the Department within fifteen (15) days following the presentation of the application, with regard to everything related to the transfer of his/her rights or the destruction or abandonment of the ship. Said transfer, destruction or abandonment shall invalidate the certificate of number of said ship, except when said transfer does not affect the right of the owner to operate it.
(e) When the holder of a certificate of number changes the address that appears on the document, he/she shall advise of this fact and inform the new address to the Department within a term of sixty (60) days from the change of address.
(f) No ship shall show or bear any other painted or affixed number other than the one assigned according to this chapter, or by virtue of the reciprocity provided in this section.
(g) The owner of a ship rental firm shall keep a record of the name and address of the person who rents any ship or navigation vessel designed or authorized by him/her to be operated as such, the identification number, date and hour of departure, date and hour it is expected to return, and the date and hour of its return. This record shall be kept for a period of one (1) year. It shall be the obligation of the owner to provide a general oral or written orientation to the lessee on the navigation rules prepared and provided by the Commissioner of Navigation.
(h) The owner of any ship or navigation vessel shall be responsible for damages caused when operating any of these, with fault or negligence, and when it is operated or under control of any person who, with the main purpose of operating or allowing it to be operated by a third party, obtains possession of it through express or tacit authorization of the owner. In every case it shall be presumed, unless there is evidence to the contrary, that the person who operates, or has control of a ship has obtained its possession with the authorization of the owner with the main purpose of operating it, or to allow it to be operated by a third party.
The person for whose negligence the owner of a ship or vessel shall have to respond, according to the provisions of the above paragraph, shall be bound to indemnify him/her for the obligations and liability he/she is bound to assume.
(i) The owner of a ship or vessel is bound to provide the Department the complete information of the identity of any person who is involved in an accident while operating the ship or vessel, as well as all the details of the accident.
Neither the owner of a ship rental business, nor his employed agent shall allow a ship or vessel designed or authorized by him to be operated as such, to leave the premises unless he/she has been provided by the owner or lessee with the equipment required pursuant to the regulations promulgated to such effects by the Department.
(j) It is presumed that every ship is the property of the person in whose name it is registered or of the person whose information appears in the application for an identification number.
(7) The following ships shall be exempted from numbering and registration:
(a) Watercraft already covered by a number in full force and effect assigned by federal law or according to a numbering system of another state which has federal approval, and confers reciprocity rights to watercraft numbered and registered in Puerto Rico, provided that the watercraft to which an exemption has been granted does not remain in Puerto Rico waters for more than sixty (60) days during the calendar year. Provided, That when said watercraft is used or owned by residents of Puerto Rico or persons domiciled in Puerto Rico, it shall be required for such watercraft to be registered, as appropriate, within a sixty (60) day term counted as of its first introduction into the waters of Puerto Rico.
(b) In the case of foreign flag nautical tourism watercraft, as defined by the Nautical Tourism Act of 2010, §§ 6971 et seq. of Title 23, and the Regulation approved thereunder, such watercraft may remain exempt from numbering and registration for a period of up to one (1) year; Provided, That after one (1) year said watercraft shall leave the waters of Puerto Rico.
(c) Ships owned by the United States of America, the Commonwealth, a state of the United States, or a subdivision thereof.
(d) Lifeboats of a vessel or ship that area transported on the deck of the ship they are destined to serve.
(e) “Tender to” service ships that must be identified though the letters T/T and the name of the mother ship to which they belong.
(f) Foreign flag watercraft and watercraft that have a registration certificate in effect issued by the United States Coast Guard and have a sticker issued by the United States of America Customs Service may remain exempt from numbering and registration for up to one (1) year; Provided, however, That watercraft held or owned by residents of Puerto Rico shall not be exempt from registration.
(g) The Department may declare other watercraft exempt from numbering through regulations to such effect, after having ascertained that the numbering thereof does not materially help in identifying them, provided that the Department determines that these watercraft would be exempt from numbering if they were subject to a federal law or were registered as foreign flag watercraft. Any foreign flag nautical tourism watercraft and watercraft registered with the United States Coast Guard shall also be exempt from numbering and registration, provided, however, that commercial nautical tourism watercraft for which a Certificate of Inspection (COI) is required shall not be exempt under this section.
(8) In the event that an agency of the Government of the United States maintains an identification system by number for motor vessels or navigation vessels within the United States, the numbering system used by the Department by virtue of this chapter must be in harmony with said other system.
(9) The following is provided for failing to register, renew or advise of the transfer of a boat, ship or vessel:
Any person who, in violation of the provisions of this section, fails to register or renew the registration or fails to notify the change of ownership of the terms provided in this chapter, shall be subject to an administrative fine equal to the annual registration fee corresponding to said ship, multiplied by four (4). The administrative fine may be imposed each time that the police officers determine that the vessel has not been properly registered, that the sticker has not been renewed, or that the change of ownership has not been notified within the terms prescribed in this section. The fine shall not be imposed on more than one occasion within a period of forty-eight (48) hours if the ticket was handed to the operator, and of twenty (20) days if it was issued during his/her absence. If during the course of those twenty (20) days the police officer intercepts the vessel while it is being operated, an additional ticket may be issued for each occasion that it is operated. The amount of this fine shall be covered into the Special Fund created by virtue of this chapter.
It is further established that the fine for not renewing the sticker or for failing to notify the change of ownership shall be noted in the registration of the vessel that is found in the Office of the Commissioner of Navigation, which shall be paid prior to making the renewal or transfer in the Department, including those cases of foreclosure by a financial institution or by any creditor regardless of the manner that title is transferred.
The lessor of a vessel is authorized to require the lessee to keep a credit card form signed and in effect up to a maximum of sixty (60) days. Within said term, and by request of the lessor, the Department shall notify of any debt resulting from a fine imposed on the lessee, and the lessor shall pay the debt within said period by completing the credit card form for the amount paid.
(10) Any person who violates any of the provisions of this section, shall be charged with a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, shall be punished with a fine that shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500), for each infraction.
History —Dec. 21, 2000, No. 430, § 9; Dec. 16, 2009, No. 179, § 3; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 241, § 3.