37.— (1) (a) Where after a declaration of survey, made by a surveyor of ships under the nuclear carriage rules in respect of an Irish ship to which this Chapter applies, is received by the Minister and if he or she is satisfied that the ship complies with the nuclear carriage rules relevant to the ship and provided, where relevant—

(i) in case the ship is a passenger ship, a general safety certificate under section 20(1) of the Act of 1952, and

(ii) in any other case, a safety equipment certificate under section 22(1) of the Act of 1952, a radio certificate under section 23(1) of the Act of 1952 and a cargo ship safety construction certificate under section 4(1) of the Act of 1966 or a cargo ship safety certificate under section 13 (1) of this Act,

is in force in respect of the ship, he or she shall on application of the owner, issue, in respect of such ship an International Certificate of Fitness for the Carriage of INF Cargo (“international certificate of fitness (INF)”), in the form provided for in the nuclear carriage rules.

(b) In this subsection “declaration of survey” means a declaration made under section 272 (as applied by section 27(2) of the Act of 1952 and section 3(4) of the Act of 1966) of the Principal Act.

(2) An Irish ship in respect of which an international certificate of fitness (INF) is in force shall be subject to such further surveys as are provided for under the nuclear carriage rules to ensure that the ship continues to comply with the requirements of such rules.

(3) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), an international certificate of fitness (INF) shall be in force for a period not exceeding 1 year or such shorter period as may be specified in it and may be cancelled where the Minister is satisfied that the ship no longer complies with any of the requirements of the nuclear carriage rules.

(4) The Minister or such person as he or she may authorise for the purpose, may extend the period for which an international certificate under this Chapter may be in force, to a period not exceeding 1 year and 5 months as may be specified in the nuclear carriage rules.

(5) An international certificate of fitness (INF) ceases to be in force—

(a) if any relevant survey of the ship has not been completed within the period specified for such survey as prescribed by the nuclear carriage rules or as required under section 39(2)(b),

(b) if, following any inspection or survey, the Minister is not satisfied that the ship continues to comply substantially with the requirements of the nuclear carriage rules for such ships, or

(c) if, any of the certificates referred to in subsection (1)(a)(i) or (ii), as are relevant to the ship, cease to be in force in respect of such ship—

(i) upon any unapproved change to the ship referred to in section 39(1), or

(ii) upon transfer of the ship to another state.

(6) (a) A ship to which this Chapter applies must not operate to carry nuclear cargo or proceed, or attempt to proceed, to sea without an international certificate of fitness (INF) for the time being in force.

(b) If a ship to which this Chapter applies operates to carry nuclear cargo or proceeds, or attempts to proceed, to sea without a valid international certificate of fitness (INF) for the time being in force in respect of the ship it shall be regarded as an unsafe ship for the purposes of Chapter 7.

(7) (a) Sections 27(9) and 28(1) of the Act of 1952 apply in relation to international certificates of fitness (INF) as they apply to a certificate authorised under that Act.

(b) Section 28(2) of the Act of 1952 applies in relation to international certificates of fitness (INF) as it applies to a certificate issued under that Act and any corresponding International Certificate of Fitness for the Carriage of INF Cargo issued by the government of another country, other than the State, to which the Safety Convention applies, under such Convention, in respect of a ship to which this section applies, other than an Irish ship, and accepted as having the same force in the State as a certificate of fitness (INF) shall be referred to as an accepted certificate of fitness (INF).

(8) The reference to an international certificate of fitness (INF) in subsection (6) and sections 38(4) and 41(2)(a) or (c) shall, in the case of a ship to which this Chapter applies, other than an Irish ship, be construed as a reference to an accepted international certificate of fitness (INF).

(9) The Minister may authorise on his or her behalf a person to issue, cancel or extend an international certificate of fitness (INF).