Voyage Data Recorders (VDRs) were originally mandated for new and existing passenger and ro-ro passenger ships, and new cargo ships of 3000 gross tonnage and upwards, when engaged on international voyages, under Regulation 20 of the revised SOLAS Chapter V. The revision to SOLAS Chapter V entered into force on 01 Jul 2002 but the regulation was subsequently amended to include existing cargo ships (i.e. already under construction or in service on 01 Jul 2002). However, ships affected by the amendment were given the option of retrofitting either the full-specification VDR or a reduced-specification Simplified Voyage Data Recorder (S-VDR) under a rolling implementation programme which ran from July 2006 to July 2010. Administrations were able to exempt cargo ships from the requirement to fit a VDR/S-VDR if a ship was due to be permanently taken out of service within two years after the relevant implementation date for that size of vessel. In addition, administrations could exempt all other ships, apart from ro-ro passenger ships, constructed before 01 Jul 2002 if it could be demonstrated that interfacing a VDR/S-VDR with existing equipment on the ship was unreasonable and impracticable.
Scroll down the page to read a short summary of various documents relating to VDRs. View and download the full document by clicking on the relevant link.
A.861(20) (27 Nov 1997) – Performance Standards for Voyage Data Recorders
VDR performance standards (i.e. standards which laid down the functional and operational requirements of the system) were first published back in 1997 and apply, with amendments, to VDRs installed on ships before 01 Jul 2014. The following items of data are to be recorded:
- Date and time
- Position
- Speed
- Heading
- Bridge audio
- Communications audio
- Radar
- Echo sounder
- Mandatory alarms
- Rudder order and response
- Engine order and response
- Hull opening status
- Watertight and fire door status
- Acceleration and hull stresses (where fitted)
- Wind speed and direction (if fitted with equipment capable of transmitting data to the IEC 61162 standards)
Data is required to be stored for a minimum of 12 hours – following which it is permissible to overwrite older items. In the event of failure of the ship’s emergency power supply, bridge audio should be recorded for an additional 2 hours from a dedicated reserve power supply – following which all recording is to cease automatically.
Note: for the purposes of the performance standards the equipment needed to playback the recorded data was not originally considered part of the VDR.
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MSC/Circ.1024 (29 May 2002) – Guidelines on VDR Ownership and Recovery
The Guidelines reflect five basic issues relevant to VDR ownership and recovery, namely (i) ownership, (ii) custody, (iii) recovery, (iv) read-out and (v) access to the VDR information. With respect to ownership of the VDR data it is acknowledged that, in all circumstances and at all times, this belongs to the ship owner.
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MSC.163(78) (17 May 2004) – Performance Standards for Simplified VDRs (S-VDRs)
The rationale behind developing performance standards for a reduced-specification VDR was to enable the SOLAS carriage requirement to be extended to existing cargo ships but, at the same time, recognising that they may be issues with interfacing older, non-digital, shipboard equipment to a fully-digital system. Therefore it is only mandatory to record basic navigation data along with bridge and communications audio. All other items need only be recorded if a suitable interface exists and, if unable to record radar imagery, then AIS should be recorded in lieu.
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This Safety of Navigation Circular highlighted a problem that accident investigators were frequently frustrated in their ability to download data from the VDR/S-VDR to, for example, a laptop computer due to the absence of a suitable interface in the performance standards. As well proprietary software was required to playback the stored data.
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These amendments required VDRs/S-VDRs installed on or after 01 Jun 2008 to be fitted with a data output interface and for manufacturers to make available copies of the software for downloading and replaying the stored data on an external computer. There should also be means for converting the data to “industry-standard” formats where manufacturers use proprietary recording formats.
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MSC.1/Circ. 1222 (11 Dec 2006) – Guidelines on Annual Testing of VDRs and S-VDRs
The purpose of an annual performance test is to ensure that a VDR/S-VDR conforms with the manufacturer’s specification and that all interfaces which connects other equipment to the VDR/S-VDR have been checked to confirm compliance with the appropriate International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) test standards.
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MSC.333(90) (12 May 2014) – Adoption of Revised Performance Standards for VDRs
The latest VDR standards apply to installations on ships after 01 Jul 2014. A number of important changes have been implemented to reflect shortcomings identified with the original standards (A.861(20)) over time. These include:
- Data to be recorded in a fixed protective capsule, a float-free capsule and internally within the VDR
- Data to be recorded for a minimum of 48 hours in both capsules and for 30 days internally within the VDR
- Improvements to the quality of the bridge audio
- Images from second radar to be recorded
- ECDIS images, charts used and settings to be recorded
- AIS to be recorded
- Inclinometer data to be recorded (if fitted)
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