53.— (1) On application of the owner or master of a ship or boat for a permit to tender the Minister or such other person as he or she may authorise for that purpose may, where he or she is satisfied that the proposals in the tendering operations safety plan are in compliance with this Chapter and with any tendering operations regulations and are sufficient to ensure the safe undertaking of the tendering operation, issue a permit in respect of the ship or boat to tender subject to such conditions as he or she sees fit.

(2) An owner or master of a ship or boat, tender or vessel’s tender must not carry out or attempt to carry out tendering operations without a permit to tender for the time being in force in respect of it.

(3) If a ship or boat, a tender or a vessel’s tender engage in tendering operations, or attempts to engage in tendering operations, without a permit to tender for the time being in force in respect of it, it shall be regarded as an unsafe ship for the purposes of Chapter 7.

(4) After a permit to tender has issued no change shall be made in the undertaking of the tendering operation to which the permit relates without the prior approval of the Minister or such other person as he or she may authorise for that purpose.