R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 46-9-2 (2026)

Vessels required to employ state licensed pilot — “Vessel” defined

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section RI-LEGwebserver.rilegislature.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a) Every foreign vessel, regardless of gross tonnage or draft, and every American vessel under register, regardless of gross tonnage or draft, and every other vessel not exempted by § 46-9-3, or the laws of the United States, entering or departing from any port of the state or traversing the waters of the state north of a line drawn from Point Judith to Sakonnet Point, shall take and employ a pilot licensed under this chapter and shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter; and the vessel, its master, owner, agent, or consignee shall be liable for any pay pilotage rates in accordance with the pilotage rates established by the pilotage commission or which may be established under the provisions of this chapter; and the vessels shall be subject to regulations established by the pilotage commission, which commission is established under § 46-9-5.

(b) Unless otherwise provided, as used in this chapter, the word “vessel” means every description of watercraft or other artificial contraption used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water and measuring one thousand (1,000) gross tons or more, and capable of loading to a draft of twelve feet (12′) or more, and every foreign ship, boat, barge, vessel, and watercraft, regardless of gross tonnage or draft, and every American ship, boat, barge, vessel, and watercraft under register, regardless of gross tonnage or draft.

(c) Notwithstanding any of the above provisions, any vessel carrying or towing a barge or similar conveyance carrying more than one thousand (1,000) gross tons of any oil, petroleum, petroleum distillate, or any by-product thereof, shall be defined as a vessel and shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 2004–2004 · leading case: Hall v. Eklof Marine Corp., 339 F. Supp. 2d 369 (D.R.I. 2004).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Hall v. Eklof Marine Corp., 339 F. Supp. 2d 369 (D.R.I. 2004). · cites it 2× “— The owner, operator, and/or his or her or its agent of any seagoing vessel, as defined in § 46-9-2, entering the waters or waterways of this state who shall violate the provisions of chapter 9 or 9.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.