This section applies to any ship which is registered in a country of which the government (or an agency or authority of the government), in the opinion of the Secretary of State F1or, as the case may be, the Scottish Ministers, has adopted or is proposing to adopt discriminatory measures or practices prohibiting or otherwise restricting the use in connection with any deep sea bed mining operations of ships registered in the United Kingdom.

Without prejudice to F2section 2(3A) above, the Secretary of State or the Scottish Ministers may include in any exploration or exploitation licence, either on granting the licence or by a subsequent variation, such terms and conditions as he considers F3(or they consider) expedient for prohibiting or otherwise restricting the use in connection with the licensed operations or any ancillary operations of any ship to which this section applies.

The Secretary of State may by order extend this section to ships which are registered in any country of which the government (or any agency or authority of the government), in his opinion, has adopted or is proposing to adopt discriminatory measures or practices prohibiting or otherwise restricting the use in connection with any deep sea bed mining operations of ships registered in the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or any colony.

In this section, references to an agency or authority of a government include references to any undertaking appearing to the Secretary of State F4or, as the case may be, the Scottish Ministers to be, or to be acting on behalf of, an undertaking which is in effect owned or controlled (directly or indirectly) by a State other than the United Kingdom.