(1) The owner of an Indian ship who applies for registry under this Act shall, before registry, cause her to be marked permanently and conspicuously in the prescribed manner and to the satisfaction of the registrar and any ship not so marked may be detained by the registrar.
(2) Subject to any other provision contained in this act and to the provisions of any rules made there under, the owner and the master of an Indian ship shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the ship remains marked as required by this section, and the said owner or master shall not cause or permit any alterations of such marks to be made except in the event of any of the particulars thereby denoted being altered in the manner provided in this Act or except to evade capture by the enemy or by a foreign ship of war in the exercise of some belligerent right.