07 — Glossary
The terms in the contract
and in the report.
19 terms you will meet in a contract, a report or a dispute. What each means and why it matters.
Frequently asked questions ↗- Draft survey
- A method of determining the quantity of bulk cargo by reading the vessel's draft before and after loading or discharge. The difference in displacement, corrected with the vessel's hydrostatic tables and for ballast, bunkers and fresh water on board, gives the quantity. On GAFTA terms it is not accepted for the contractual weight unless both parties explicitly accept it in writing (Rules No. 123); it remains a useful cross-check, and the reference method where the contract provides for it.
- Draft marks
- The marks on the vessel's hull — forward, midships and aft, on both sides — showing how deep the vessel sits in the water. A draft survey begins with reading them. If one cannot be read, because of swell, light or the vessel's position at the berth, the report says which one and how much it affected the result.
- B/L quantity
- The quantity stated in the bill of lading, the document issued by the carrier at loading. It is the figure the buyer pays for. The draft survey at discharge is compared against it; the difference is the shortfall or excess found at destination.
- Shortfall / shortlanding
- The difference between the bill of lading quantity and the quantity determined at discharge. Part of it is explained by the tolerances of the measuring methods; the rest is a matter of dispute. The survey report is what goes on the table when the two parties do not agree on the figure.
- Independent surveyor
- A person or firm that verifies the cargo without holding an interest in it: not a party to the transaction, taking no commission on it, and with no preferred outcome. Independence is the reason a buyer accepts the surveyor's figure in place of the seller's. Without it, verification is just a second interested opinion.
- Mandate / instructions
- What the surveyor was instructed to verify: which cargo, where, when, by what method, and what documents to issue. The report covers the mandate and nothing beyond it. A finding about something outside the mandate is not a finding but an observation — and is marked as such.
- Representative sample
- A sample that describes the whole parcel, not only the part it was taken from. It is obtained by drawing increments from several points and moments of the operation, under a plan agreed in advance, combined into a composite sample. A perfect analysis of an unrepresentative sample gives a perfect result about something else.
- Counter-sample / retained sample
- A portion of the composite sample, sealed and retained separately, unanalysed. If the analysis result is disputed, the counter-sample allows a second analysis of the same cargo. Without it, a quality dispute has nothing left to compare. Under GAFTA Rules No. 124 it is kept for 3 months from sealing, unless the parties instruct otherwise in writing.
- Chain of custody
- The unbroken record of who had the sample in hand, from drawing to laboratory: who drew it, who sealed it, under what seal number, who handed it over and to whom. Every missing link is a point at which the sample could have been exchanged. A certificate of analysis is worth exactly as much as the chain of custody behind it.
- Seal
- A device with a unique number applied to a cargo sample, a ship's hold or a container, which cannot be removed without being destroyed. Under GAFTA 124, samples are sealed jointly by both parties or their superintendents. The number is recorded in the report. An intact seal at destination proves that what was closed at departure is what was opened on arrival.
- Certificate of analysis
- The document issued by a laboratory with the results of the determinations on an identified sample. It states what was measured, by what method and with what result. It says nothing about the cargo if the sample was not representative and cannot be tied to the parcel — which is why who drew the sample, and how, matters.
- Moisture content
- The percentage of water in the grain, determined by standardised methods. It is the parameter that decides whether the cargo can be stored without deteriorating, and it is almost always in the contractual specification, as a maximum. A parcel above the limit is discounted or rejected. Any intervention that adds water — coloration, for instance — must be declared.
- Test weight / hectolitre weight
- The mass of one hectolitre of grain, in kilograms. It indicates how full and dense the kernels are and is a usual quality criterion for wheat and barley. The contract value is a minimum; below it, the cargo is discounted. It is measured on a representative sample with a calibrated instrument.
- Foreign matter / impurities
- Everything that is not a kernel of the declared cereal: other seeds, straw, soil, stones, broken kernels above a certain size. Expressed as a percentage by mass and limited contractually, as a maximum. Determined on a representative sample, by sieving and manual separation under set rules.
- Cargo hold
- The compartment of the vessel into which bulk cargo is loaded. Before loading it is inspected for cleanliness, dryness, residues, odour, infestation and water ingress, and the report records the condition of each hold separately. An inaccessible hold is written up as such; it is not assumed.
- GAFTA
- The Grain and Feed Trade Association, based in London. An association of grain and feed traders whose standard contract forms govern a large share of international grain trade. It publishes sampling and analysis rules, a register of approved superintendents (surveyors) and one of approved fumigators. "Inspection in accordance with GAFTA" means sampling and reporting under its rules. KRM Inspection is on the registers of superintendents and of fumigators.
- FOSFA
- The Federation of Oils, Seeds and Fats Associations, based in London. The counterpart of GAFTA for oilseeds, vegetable oils and fats — rapeseed, sunflower, soya and their oils. It publishes standard contracts and sampling and analysis rules for these commodities. Its contracts require sampling by FOSFA member superintendents, under ISO 21294, and analysis by member analysts. KRM Inspection is a member superintendent, Oilseeds Section.
- Coloration
- Visual marking of a parcel of grain by spraying a dye solution onto the kernels so that the parcel can be identified by eye. Required by some buyers or some countries of destination for feed grain or grain for sowing. It is an intervention on the cargo, not a finding about it — which is why whoever carries it out should not also certify it.
- Fumigation
- Gas treatment of the cargo, the hold or the warehouse to destroy pests. Carried out by licensed personnel under a set procedure, and documented: which product, what dosage, what exposure time, what ventilation. Like coloration, it is an intervention on the cargo and is kept separate from the inspection mandate.
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