Boat and jet ski rental business

They are the duties the Navigation and Water Safety Act imposes on the owner of a boat and navigation vehicle rental business. They are in Article 9(6)(g) and in the paragraph closing Article 9(6), and connect with Article 7(9)(d), where the exception to the operating licence for whoever rents a jet ski lives. The Act distinguishes throughout between a vessel, which under Article 3(K) has a motor installed, and a navigation vehicle, which under Article 3(L) does not.

On the business side, the duties fall on the owner, and some on every employee present at the establishment at closing time. On the client side, the minimum age to rent a vessel is twenty-one, and for navigation vehicles it is twelve. And there is a rule of its own for rented jet skis: any person aged fourteen or over may operate one, provided they are accompanied by the renter.

• Keeping the equipment in good safety condition (Article 9(6)(g)).Verified against the official source
• Being accredited by the competent government body in life-saving measures and having a duly licensed instructor during operating hours, before a vessel or navigation vehicle is operated (Article 9(6)(g)).Verified against the official source
• Respecting the minimum age: twenty-one (21) to rent a vessel and twelve (12) in the case of navigation vehicles (Article 9(6)(g)).Verified against the official source
• Giving the renter a verbal orientation on the navigation rules prepared and provided by the Commissioner, in Spanish or English as they prefer, and setting it down in writing in the rental contract (Article 9(6)(g)).Verified against the official source
• Also giving an orientation on the safe use of the equipment and establishing which coastal area is to be used (Article 9(6)(g)).Verified against the official source
• Keeping for one (1) year the record of each rental: name and address of the renter, identification number, date and time of departure, date and time the return is expected, and date and time of return (Article 9(6)(g)).Verified against the official source
• Reporting to the Police of Puerto Rico, on the same day of the rental, the failure to return the rented equipment; breach carries a one thousand (1,000) dollar administrative fine imposed by ticket (Article 9(6)(g)).Verified against the official source
• Not letting a vessel or navigation vehicle leave the premises without the equipment required under the Department’s regulation, provided by the owner or by the renter (Article 9(6), closing paragraph).Verified against the official source

• The rental contract, where the orientation on the navigation rules must be set down in writing (Article 9(6)(g)).
• The rental record, with name, address, identification number, departure time, expected return time and actual return time, kept for one year (Article 9(6)(g)).
• The official signed photo identification, issued by the state or country of origin, that the jet ski renter exempted from the operating licence must provide (Article 9(6)(g)).
• The navigation rules prepared and provided by the Commissioner, which are the basis of the client orientation (Article 9(6)(g)).

1. 1

   Step 1: Twenty-one for motorised, twelve for paddled

   The sentence in Article 9(6)(g) is short and settles half the operation: the minimum age to rent a vessel shall be twenty-one; in the case of navigation vehicles it shall be twelve. The difference lies in the Article 3 definitions. Subsection K calls a vessel any water transportation system or equipment with a motor installed, including jet skis, motor rafts, motor sailboats and boats or launches of any class. Subsection L calls a navigation vehicle one with no motor installed: paddle boards, rowing boats, canoes, kayaks, sailing boats with or without oars, water skis, floating boards, rafts and inflatable systems.

2. 2

   Step 2: Life-saving accreditation and a licensed instructor

   The same subsection sets two conditions that come before anyone boards: before a vessel or navigation vehicle is operated, the operator must be accredited by the competent body of the Government of Puerto Rico in life-saving measures, and must have a duly licensed instructor during operating hours. The Act does not say which body accredits or how that instructor is licensed; that sits outside its text and we do not invent it.

3. 3

   Step 3: The orientation goes in the client’s preferred language

   Article 9(6)(g) requires giving the renter an orientation on the navigation rules prepared and provided by the Commissioner. And it specifies the form: that orientation shall be verbal, in Spanish or English according to the renter’s preferred language, and shall be set down in writing in the rental contract. In addition, an orientation on the safe use of the equipment must be given and the coastal area to be used must be established. The same subsection adds that the owner may set area limits for the use of its vessels and shall look after its clients’ safety.

4. 4

   Step 4: The record has six fields and is kept a year

   The Act lists exactly what must be kept: the name and address of the person renting any vessel or navigation vehicle designed or authorised by the owner to be operated as such, the identification number, the date and time of departure, the date and time the return is expected, and the date and time of the return. And it closes with the term: this record must be kept for a period of one year. The expected return time and the actual return time are separate fields, and from that comes the duty that follows.

5. 5

   Step 5: If the equipment is not returned: same day, and a thousand dollars

   This is the subsection’s highest-fined duty, and it falls on employees too. It shall be the duty of every employee or owner of a boat rental business present at the establishment at closing time to report to the Police of Puerto Rico the failure to return the rented equipment, on the same day of the rental. The Act explains why: so the Police can investigate whether it was an illegal appropriation or whether some mishap befell the renters at sea. Breach of this last provision by the owner carries a one-thousand-dollar administrative fine imposed by ticket.

6. 6

   Step 6: The licence exception and what it asks in return

   Article 7(9)(d) requires an operating licence of every person born after 1 July 1972 and resident in Puerto Rico, and exempts from that requirement whoever rents a jet ski at an authorised boat rental business and meets the requirements of subsection 6(g) of Article 9. That subsection says what is asked in return: every exempted jet ski renter must provide an official signed photo identification, issued by the state or country of origin. The exception belongs to the client, but the paperwork is handled by the business.

7. 7

   Step 7: Fourteen, if accompanied by the renter

   Article 9(6)(g) closes that point with a rule of its own for rented equipment: any person aged fourteen or over may operate the rented jet ski, provided they are accompanied by the renter. It is worth reading alongside the general rule in Article 7(9)(b), that no person under fourteen shall operate a jet ski without an adult present, and alongside Article 7(9)(m), which requires life jackets for the operator and passengers of a jet ski.

8. 8

   Step 8: Nothing leaves the premises without the required equipment

   The paragraph closing Article 9(6) is a gate rule: neither the owner of a boat rental business, nor its agent or employee, shall let a vessel or navigation vehicle designed or authorised by them to be operated as such leave the premises unless it has been provided — by the owner or by the renter — with the equipment required under the regulation the Department adopts for that purpose. The Act allows the client to supply the equipment, but does not allow it to be missing.

9. 9

   Step 9: What the Act does not settle for the business

   Article 9(6)(g) speaks of “an authorised boat rental business” and imposes duties on it, but the articles we read do not describe an operating permit with requirements, fees and term. Nor do they list the required safety equipment, which the text itself defers to the regulation the Department adopts. We publish neither of those because we did not read them, and we do not infer them from context.

The Act governing this business is administered by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources through the Navigation Commissioner, who prepares and provides the navigation rules used in the client orientation and who regulates the safety equipment. The report for unreturned equipment goes to the Police of Puerto Rico, on the same day of the rental. Accreditation in life-saving measures is given, per the text, by the competent government body, which the Act does not name.

• Applying a single minimum age: it is twenty-one for vessels and twelve for navigation vehicles.
• Conflating the two categories: a vessel has a motor installed; a kayak, canoe and paddle board do not.
• Giving the orientation in one language only: the Act requires it in Spanish or English, as the renter prefers.
• Leaving the orientation verbal: it must be set down in writing in the rental contract.
• Forgetting the orientation on safe equipment use and on the coastal area to be used, which are separate duties.
• Recording only the departure: the record also asks for the expected return time and the actual return time.
• Throwing the record away after a month: it is kept for one year.
• Waiting until the next day to report unreturned equipment: the report to the Police is the same day of the rental, and breach is a thousand dollars.
• Believing the rental licence exception is automatic: the exempted renter must provide official signed photo identification from their state or country.
• Letting a jet ski leave without the required equipment because the client said they were bringing their own and did not.
• Assuming a minor may take the rented jet ski out alone: from fourteen they may, but accompanied by the renter.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA)

  DRNA

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov