Section 15(6)(b) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1992 empowers the Minister to refuse to grant a licence to the owner of a passenger boat who has been convicted of an offence. Section 16(2) gives the Minister powers to suspend or revoke a licence where an owner fails or refuses to comply with a condition of a licence, but the provision only applied to the vessel to which the licence applies. The Minister has no powers in relation to any other vessel that the owner may have, that is, the Minister can only act with regard to the boat in respect of which the convictions were made but cannot do anything about any additional boat the owner may have. The proposed amendment will enable the Minister to revoke any or all passenger boat licences held by an individual who has been guilty of an offence, even when the offence has occurred on another vessel. The penalty provisions in the Act in respect of passenger boats will also be amended to bring them into line with the current maximum permissible.