LEGAL BASIS AND PURPOSE

(A) The legal basis of this regulation is (i) Act. No. 125 of May 7, 1942, as amended, known as the Puerto Rico Ports Authority ("PRPA"), 23 L.P.R.A. § 335 et seq, and (ii) the provisions of Act No. 38-2017, as amended, known as the Puerto Rico Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, 3 L.P.R.A. § 9601 et seq. (B) Act No. 142 of May 7, 1942, as amended, grants the PRPA all rights and powers necessary to, among others, manage marine transportation facilities and to "make available the benefits thereof in the most extensive and least costly manner, thereby promoting the general welfare and increasing commerce and prosperity." 23 L.P.R.A. § 336. Specifically, Act. No. 142 mandates the use of the PRPA's facilities and services "in the most ample (sic) and varied manner that is financially feasible" and, to that end, empowers the PRPA's Board of Directors to "make changes to the general rate structure" of such regulations. Id. § 336(I)(1)(c). On December 22, 2016, following the advice and consent of its Board of Directors, the PRPA exercised such powers to promulgate Regulation No. M-1-8 (registered as Reg. No. 8879). As relevant here, Section 14.1 of Regulation No. M-1-8 establishes the applicable dockage fee for cruise vessels docking at PRPAcontrolled ports. Today, cruise vessels must pay the PRPA a dockage fee at a rate of $.0739 per ton per day, or fraction thereof. The design of this rate responded to a then-straightforward premise. Because commercially operational cruise ships strive to dock for as little time as possible, it made sense for the PRPA to formulate a rate that would allow for maximum revenue under such short periods. However, much has changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting economic crisis has led to a virtual halt of commercial cruise ship operations on a worldwide scale, thus creating a need for -and a market for- the medium to long-term dockage of laid-up cruise vessels. As used in the maritime lexicon, a "laid-up" cruise vessel refers to the prolonged docking of a cruise vessel which has temporarily been taken out of profitable service due to lack of charter, as part of its owner's or operator's efforts to reduce operational overhead. As a result, many countries, including our neighboring Caribbean islands, have been quick to provide competitive dockage fees for laid-up cruise vessels. In these trying times of financial and operational uncertainty, the PRPA believes it, too, should enter the race to provide affordable and competitive rates in this niche market. However, the dockage fees that are currently established under Regulation No. M-1-8 prove to be an obstacle to such efforts. Accordingly, on September 22, 2020, the PRPA Board of Directors issued Resolution No. 2020-029, favoring amending with immediate effect Regulation No. -1- M-1-8 to include a new subsection 14.1.2 and provide a temporarily discounted rate for laid-up cruise vessels, which shall be determined by the Board of Directors on a case-by-case basis. Pursuant to the PRPA's initiative, on September 24, 2020, the Governor of Puerto Rico, Hon. Wanda Vázquez-Garced, issued a letter certifying that the public interest requires that the instant amendment to Regulation No. M-1-8 take effect without delay. Additionally, on November 13, 2020, the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico issued a letter approving the aforesaid amendment to Regulation No. M-1-8.