as “Notice of Readiness”, “Dead Freight Claim”, “Bill of Lading” etc.
However, such authorisation must be in writing and is non-transferable, specific, and time limited. • ROB/OBQ Certificates with the words Pumpable, Unpumpable, Reachable by Ship's Equipment, and other similar non-defined wording: We simply cannot attest if a cargo is pumpable, unpumpable, or reachable by the specific ship’s equipment. • Dry Tank Certificates: the word “dry” has a number of meanings, not least of which is the total absence of moisture or liquid, which we cannot conclude from a tank inspection. • Tank Cleanliness Certificates that include the words "suitable" other than "Suitably Clean: the term “suitable” implies a general subjective assessment by SGS of the overall condition of the tank (including e.g. the adequacy of the heating coils to maintain cargo temperature or the structural condition of the tank), whilst SGS only reports on the objective state of facts as observed by our inspectors within the limit of the agreed scope of inspection (which never involves assessing whether a tank is “suitable” in general). Likewise, regarding quality, we must be exceedingly careful when observing third party analysis and always use our approved forms for Test Observation. We cannot just sign for quality without some restrictions and disclaimers. Observing analysis is an area where it is critically important to use the forms that we have developed whereby the description of the work performed and the limitations are clearly spelt out.
We cannot just give a blanket approval for:
• testing that we have not performed.
These forms should NEVER be signed unless you have a specific instruction to do so, and we have an agreement with our client that has been approved by our legal department. Typically, prior to SGS agreeing to signing documents of this nature, the client will have to provide SGS with a letter of indemnity (a letter of indemnity is written to reassure the other party with specific measures that will hold them harmless).
• samples that we may not have taken.
• reagents that we have not prepared.
• apparatus that we have not calibrated or maintained.
• chemists that are not in our employ and are not responsible to us and whose experience and training levels are unknown to us. • QA / QC of the lab, reagents, instruments, calibration, round robins, sample preparation, and so forth. If we accept observed or submitted analysis without qualifying it, then, with one signature, we have attested not only to all the foregoing being correct, but, more importantly, you commit our total responsibility for the testing and the results shown. If anything is disputed later, it will be hard to find a defence unless properly qualified remarks somewhere on the documents alert the customer and third parties to the limitations of our signature (this includes both data gathering forms and our final client quality report).
Then there are also documents we should never sign, such as:
• Certificates of Origin: a Certificate of Origin (CO) is an important international trade document that certifies that goods in a particular export shipment are wholly obtained, produced, manufactured, or processed in a particular country. COs are requested by customs, banks, private stakeholders, and importers for several purposes. Almost every country in the world requires CO for customs clearance procedures, when determining the duty that will be assessed on the goods or, in some cases, whether the goods may be legally imported at all. Therefore, we cannot sign/endorse these documents as we cannot verify this information, and registration to sign Certificates of Origin is typically controlled. It may be that in certain, very specific, well documented, and legally authorised circumstances, named staff members may be authorised to sign such documents.
A suitable disclaimer for Test Observation of analysis is as follows:
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