R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-9-6

Any person who shall acquire, during the pendency of such proceedings, an interest in, or title to, any lands covered by public tidewater within such harbor line, which are the subject matter of such proceedings, may, by order of the court, be made a party to such proceedings, and chargeable with a share of the costs and expenses thereof, in such manner and to such extent as the court may prescribe.