(1)

Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, the provisions of Chapters I, III, X, XVI and XVIII shall apply to all inland vessels plying within inland waters of India, and-

(2)

Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, may extend the application of any Chapter or provision of this Act to any class or category of inland vessels, or to any region of inland waters, by notification in the Official Gazette.