Sperry Marine Offers Web-Based Interactive Tool

Sperry Marine, a business unit of Northrop Grumman Corporation, has launched a new Web-based interactive tool to help ship owners and shipyards quickly determine the voyage data recorder (VDR) carriage requirements for new and existing ships. International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations require certain types of ships to be fitted with an approved VDR over the next two years. The deadline for compliance varies according to the type and size of ship, date of construction and trading areas. The "VDR Calculator" makes it easy to determine the correct deadline for any ship to meet the IMO and European Union rules. The "VDR Calculator" is now available on the www.sperry-marine.com Web site. The user is prompted to enter the type of ship, date of construction and trading routes, and the VDR Calculator provides the appropriate carriage requirement data. Sperry Marine is a leading supplier of VDRs to the international maritime industry. VDRs are similar to the "black box" cockpit data recorders used on commercial airliners, providing secure storage of voice recordings from bridge watchstanders and data from key ship navigation and control systems for retrieval by investigators following incidents at sea. Sperry Marine's VoyageMaster VDR system is type approved by Det Norske Veritas, QinetiQ, BSH and other authorities to meet the IMO carriage requirements.