(1)

No person shall transfer or acquire any Indian ship or any share or interest therein [at any time during which the security of India or of any part of the territory thereof is threatened by war or external aggression and during which a Proclamation of Emergency issued under clause (1) of article 352 of the Constitution is in operation] without the previous approval of the Central Government and any transaction effected in contravention of this provision shall be void and unenforceable.

(2)

The Central Government may, if it considers it necessary or expedient so to do for the purpose of conserving the tonnage of Indian shipping, refuse to give its approval to any such transfer or acquisition.

[(2-A) No transfer or acquisition of any Indian ship shall be valid unless-

(a) all wages and other amounts due to seamen in connection with their employment on that ship have been paid in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

(b) the owner of the ship has given notice of such transfer or acquisition of the ship to the Director General.]

(3)

Subject to the other provisions contained in this section, an Indian ship or a share therein shall be transferred only by an instrument in writing.

(4)

The instrument shall contain such description of the ship as is contained in the surveyor's certificate or some other description sufficient to identify the ship to the satisfaction of the registrar and shall be in the prescribed form or as near thereto as circumstances permit and shall be executed by the transferor in the presence of and be attested by at least two witnesses.