When purchasing a second hand vessel it is advised to appoint an independent professional surveyor to act on the purchasers behalf. Usually a survey consists of two major written survey reports, namely a hull survey and sea trial survey. During the process of sale, it is very common to have the vessel surveyed before acceptance, to eliminate or indeed identify any potential material or non-material defects. Upon providing the survey report, the purchaser usually has a limited amount of time to accept, renegotiate or reject the vessel with reference to the survey report. This is however dependant on certain factors such as the conditions incorporated in the sale and purchase agreement.