A corporation organized and established under this article shall have the following powers:
(1) To adopt bylaws for the regulation of its affairs and the conduct of its business.
(2) To adopt an official seal and alter the same at pleasure.
(3) To maintain a principal office at the City of Bayou La Batre, and suboffices at such place or places within Mobile County as it may designate.
(4) To sue and be sued in its own name, excepting actions in tort against the corporation.
(5) To construct, lease, build, install, acquire, own, operate, maintain, equip, use, and control marinas, ports, waterfront facilities, docks, wharves, piers, berths, quays, warehouses, industrial and building sites, industrial and factory buildings, and the necessary or convenient approaches, easements, roads, streets, and ways leading thereto or used in conjunction therewith.
(6) To own, acquire, maintain, and control easements, rights of way, streets, approaches, roads, interests in land, including the fee simple title to real property and riparian rights necessary, useful, or convenient in gaining access, entry, or approach to waterways, rivers, and streams, whether or not navigable and whether or not such easements, rights of way, streets, approaches, roads, interests in land, and riparian rights lead to property owned or controlled by the corporation.
(7) To acquire, receive, take, and hold, whether by purchase, gift, lease, devise, or otherwise, property of every description, whether real, personal, or mixed, and to manage the same, and to develop any undeveloped property owned, leased, or controlled by it.
(8) To execute such contracts or other instruments and to take such action as may be necessary or convenient to carry out the purpose of this article or the exercise of any authority or power granted hereunder.
(9) To construct, acquire, establish, improve, extend, enlarge, reconstruct, equip, maintain, and repair buildings, structures, and facilities suitable for use in or on marinas, ports, waterfront facilities, docks, wharves, piers, berths, quays, warehouses, industrial sites, and industrial and factory buildings or for the conduct of any lawful business, at, upon, or adjacent to any property owned or controlled by such corporation and to lease or let such building, structures, and facilities, or any one or more of them to such tenant or tenants, for such term or terms, at such compensation or rental and subject to such provisions, limitations, and conditions as the corporation may require or approve.
(10) To furnish or supply upon any property owned or controlled by the corporation to persons, machines, automobiles, and watercraft thereon, for reward or compensation, goods, commodities, area facilities, and services convenient or useful to the owners, operators, and users of watercraft, machines, and automobiles and to persons upon property owned or con- trolled by the authority including, but not limited to, food, lodging shelter, lawful drinks, confections, reading matter, oil, gasoline, motors, and water- craft, motor and watercraft parts and equipment, space in buildings, space for buildings and structures, and the services of mechanics, instructors, and repairmen.
(11) Charge fees for admission to any of its properties.
(12) To borrow money on such terms as are acceptable to the corporation for any corporate purpose and to execute and deliver its promissory note or notes and such other agreements as may be reasonably necessary or required to consummate the loan and secure the payment of the indebtedness.
(13) To appoint, employ, contract with, and provide for compensation of such officers, employees, and agents, including engineers, attorneys, consultants, fiscal advisers, and such other employees as the business of the corporation may require, including the power to fix working conditions by general rule and other conditions of employment and at its option to provide a system of disability pay, retirement compensation, and pensions or any of them and to hire and fire servants, agents, employees, and officers at will.
(14) To fix, establish, collect, and alter landing fees, docking fees, tolls, rents, and other charges for the use of any facility or other property owned or controlled by the corporation.
(15) To make and enforce rules and regulations governing the use of any property or facility owned or controlled by the corporation.
(16) To provide for such insurance, including use and occupancy insurance, as the corporation may deem advisable.
(17) To cooperate with the state, any department or agency of the state, any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, or with the United States of America or any of its departments or agencies, and to make such contracts with such agencies as the board may deem advisable.
(18) To receive and accept grants for or in aid of the construction, extension, improvement, maintenance, or operation of any of its facilities or properties from the United States of America or any agency thereof and from the state, any department or agency thereof, and any political subdivision thereof, and from any municipality, and to receive and accept money, property, labor, or other things of value from any source whatever.