(1)The Secretary of State may by order provide that a thing designed or adapted for use at sea and described in the order is or is not to be treated as a ship for the purposes of any provision specified in the order of the [1971 c. 60.] Merchant Shipping Acts or the Prevention of Oil Pollution Act 1971 or an instrument made by virtue of any of those Acts ; and such an order may—
(a)make different provision in relation to different occasions;
(b)if it provides that a thing is to be treated as a ship for the purposes of a provision specified in the order, provide that the provision shall have effect in relation to the thing with such modifications as are so specified.
(2)Where the Secretary of State proposes to make an order in pursuance of the preceding subsection it shall be his duty, before he makes the order, to consult such persons about the proposal as appear to him to represent the persons in the United Kingdom who he considers are likely to be affected by the order.