This Act may be cited as the Merchant Shipping Act, 1950.

This Act shall be construed as one with the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1949, and, without prejudice to the generality of this provision, references in those Acts to the Merchant Shipping Acts shall be construed as including references to this Act; and the said Acts and this Act may be cited together as the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1950.

This Act shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may by order appoint, and different dates may be appointed for the purpose of different provisions of this Act, and the power of the Minister to make orders under this subsection shall be exercisable by statutory instrument.