20. — (1) If the Minister, on receipt of declarations of survey in respect of a passenger steamer registered in the State, is satisfied that the steamer complies with the construction rules, rules for life-saving appliances, F17[fire protection rules,] radio rules and F18[navigation and tracking rules] applicable to the steamer and to such international voyages as she is to be engaged on, and that she is properly provided with the lights, shapes and means of making fog-signals required by the collision regulations, he shall, on the application of the owner, issue in respect of the steamer a certificate (in this Act referred to as a general safety certificate) showing that the steamer complies with the requirements of the Safety Convention applicable as aforesaid.

(2) If the voyages on which the steamer is to be engaged are short international voyages and she complies only with such of those rules as are applicable to those voyages, the certificate shall show that the steamer complies with the requirements of the Safety Convention applicable to her as a steamer plying on short international voyages, and any such certificate is hereafter in this Act referred to as a short voyage safety certificate.

(3) If the Minister, on receipt of declarations of survey in respect of any such passenger steamer as aforesaid is satisfied that the steamer is exempt, by virtue of any exercise by him of a power in that behalf conferred on him by this Act or conferred on him by the rules in question, from any of the requirements of the construction rules, rules for life-saving appliances, radio rules or F19[navigation and tracking rules] applicable to the steamer and to such international voyages as she is to be engaged on, whether short voyages or otherwise, that she complies with the rest of those requirements and that she is properly provided with the lights, shapes and means of making fog-signals required by the collision regulations, he shall, on the application of the owner, issue in respect of the steamer—

(a) an exemption certificate stating which of the requirements of the Safety Convention applicable as aforesaid the steamer is exempt from and that the exemption is conditional on the steamer plying only on the voyages and being engaged only in the trades and complying with the other conditions (if any) specified in the certificate, and

(b) a certificate showing that the steamer complies with the rest of those requirements;

and any certificate issued under paragraph (b) of this subsection is hereafter in this Act referred to as a qualified safety certificate or a qualified short voyage safety certificate, as the case may be.