[§271G-16]  Rates, fares and charges ofcommon carriers by water.  (a)  It shall be the duty of every water carrierof passengers to provide safe and adequate service, equipment, and facilitiesfor the transportation of passengers and to establish, observe, and enforcejust and reasonable rates, fares, and charges, and just and reasonableregulations and practices relating thereto, and to the issuance, form, andsubstance of tickets, the carrying of personal, sample, and excess baggage, thefacilities for transportation, and all other matters relating to or connectedwith the transportation of passengers.

(b)  It shall be the duty of every watercarrier of property to provide safe and adequate service, equipment, andfacilities for the transportation of property and to establish, observe, andenforce just and reasonable rates, charges, and classifications, and just andreasonable regulations and practices relating thereto, and to the manner andmethod of presenting, marking, packing, and delivering property fortransportation, the facilities for transportation, and all other mattersrelating to or connected with the transportation of property.

(c)  All charges made for any service renderedby any water carrier in the transportation of passengers or property or inconnection therewith shall be just and reasonable, and every unjust andunreasonable charge for such service or any part thereof, is prohibited anddeclared to be unlawful.  It shall be unlawful for any water carrier to make,give, or cause any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to anyparticular person, locality, region, district, island, or description oftraffic, in any respect whatsoever; or to subject any particular person,locality, region, district, island, or description of traffic to any unjustdiscrimination or undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage in anyrespect whatsoever; provided that this subsection shall not be construed toapply to discrimination, prejudice, or disadvantage to the traffic of any othercarrier of whatever description.

(d)  Any person or body politic may makecomplaint in writing to the commission that any such rate, fare, charge, rule,regulation, or practice, in effect or proposed to be put into effect, is orwill be in violation of this section.  Whenever, after hearing, upon complaintor in an investigation on its own initiative, the commission shall be of theopinion that any individual rate, fare, or charge, demand, charged, orcollected by any common carrier or carriers by water for transportation, or anyrule, regulation, or practice whatsoever of the carrier or carriers affectingsuch rate, fare, or charge or the value of the service thereunder, is or willbe unjust or unreasonable, or unjustly discriminatory or unduly preferential orunduly prejudicial, it shall determine and prescribe the lawful rate, fare, orcharge or the maximum or minimum or maximum and minimum rate, fare, or chargethereafter to be observed, or the lawful rule, regulation, or practicethereafter to be made effective.

(e)  In the exercise of its power to prescribejust and reasonable rates, fares, and charges for the transportation ofpassengers or property by water carriers, and to prescribe classifications,regulations, and practices relating thereto, the commission shall give dueconsideration, among other factors, to the effect of rates upon the movement oftraffic by the carrier or carriers for which the rates are prescribed; to theneed, in the public interest, of adequate and efficient transportation serviceby the carriers at the lowest cost consistent with the furnishing of theservice; and to the need of revenues sufficient to enable the carriers, underhonest, economical, and efficient management, to provide the service.

(f)  Nothing in this section shall be held toextinguish any remedy or right of action not inconsistent herewith. [L 1974, c94, pt of §1]