2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWELVE - Conservation (§§ 1-16 — 8162) › Subtitle 5 - Environment (§§ 1120 — 1436) › Chapter 130A - Navigation and Aquatic Safety (§§ 1401 — 1411) › § 1401 - Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning stated below:
(a) Commonwealth.— Means the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(b) Department.— Means the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources created by §§ 151–163 of Title 3, and reorganized by virtue of Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1993.
(c) Marine and water activities.— Means all leisure, recreational, entertainment, or commercial activities that can be carried out in the bodies of water and surrounding areas, including fishing, water and marine sports, and related recreational activities now in existence and that may be developed in the future.
(d) Secretary.— Means the Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.
(e) Commissioner.— Means the Commissioner of Navigation.
(f) Marine waters of the Commonwealth.— Means the seas surrounding the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the high seas within the jurisdiction, when navigated during a pleasure trip from or to the Commonwealth coast.
(g) Bodies of water.— Means the territorial seas, beaches, lakes, lagoons, rivers and their mouths, inlets or bays.
(h) Areas reserved for bathers.— Means those zones exclusively delimited for bathing and adjacent land areas, as established in general terms in this chapter, and which shall be specifically identified by the regulations adopted to such ends.
(i) Commonwealth territory.— Means the jurisdictional waters and land that belong to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(j) Navigable waters.— Means the navigable waters under the control or dominion of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(k) Ship or vessel.— Means any system of transportation on water that has a motor installed, including, but without being limited to jet skis, motorized rafts, power sailboats, motorboats, or boats of any sort, but excluding hydroplanes. This term also means those homemade vessels powered by a motor.
(l) Watercraft.— Means a mode of transportation which does not have a motor installed, such as rowboats, canoes, kayaks, sailboats with or without oars, water skis, surfboards with or without sails, rafts, inflatable systems, and any device that moves on the surface of the water without being propelled by a motor, although it could be fit for installation or adaptation of some type of motor.
(m) Land motor vehicle.— Means any type of vehicle that is driven by a motor and designed to operate on dry land. Includes all “motor vehicles” as defined in the Puerto Rico Traffic Act, §§ 5001 et seq. of Title 9.
(n) Registered ship.— Means those ships that have a registration certificate in full force and effect issued by the Coast Guard of the United States of America, and a duly accredited federal license.
(o) Owner.— Means any person who has ownership or holds the title deed to a vessel, watercraft, or land motor vehicle. The term includes a person entitled to use or possess, even though the boat, ship or land motor vehicle itself is subject to equity in behalf of another person, or has been reserved or constituted through an agreement to ensure payment or compliance of an obligation.
(p) Person.— Means any individual, firm, company, corporation, association or other legal entity.
(q) Operate.— Means to navigate, have command of, or drive a boat, ship or vessel, or land motor vehicle.
(r) Officer of the peace.— Means the Police of Puerto Rico, agents of the Natural and Environmental Resources Department Rangers, Coast Guard Officers, and the Municipal Guard of the municipality where the infraction occurs.
(s) Natural resources protection area.— Means those marine and aquatic areas that are physically delimited and reserved for the protection of flora and fauna from the effects of human and natural events, as well as other neighboring natural and environmental resources that have been included in the nautical charts.
(t) Kill switch.— Is any device that completely and immediately interrupts the power of a boat or ship.
(u) Boating accident.— Means an event that involves one or several boats and in which one or several persons are injured, or property is damaged. The event may be, without being construed as a limitation, a collision of boats or ships entering or leaving any port or while afloat; a sinking; the collision of the ship with any object, boat and ships; the disappearance of a person in the water, or the drowning of any person as a result of the operation of a boat or ship.
(v) Life preserver.— Means a personal flotation device duly approved by the United States Government Coast Guard.
(w) Certificate of registration.— Means the document that certifies the registration of a boat in the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources or in any territory or dependency of the United States.
(x) Distributor.— Means a person duly authorized to do business in Puerto Rico who is engaged in selling, buying, reselling or dealing in boats or ships.
(y) Marina or warf.— Means a duly authorized public or private place with docking installations, mainly for the use of recreational or pleasure boats.
(z) Anchorage.— Means the places designated by the Secretary for the mooring or anchoring of boats within protected areas.
(aa) Tender (Tender to or T/T).— Means a small ship whose purpose is to attend and supply a larger ship and is transported on the deck of the mother ship it is destined to serve. It shall not include those that are required to be transported by the mother ship. [sic]
(bb) Serious bodily injury.— Shall mean a bodily injury that requires hospitalization, prolonged treatment or which causes a permanent injury or mutilating damage.
History —Dec. 21, 2000, No. 430, § 3; Sept. 14, 2004, No. 283, § 1.