Sperry Marine Wins Type Approval for VDR

The German certification authority Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH) has awarded type approval to Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) for its Sperry Marine VoyageMaster II Voyage Data Recorder (VDR). The BSH type approval certifies that the Sperry Marine VDR meets the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) performance standards for shipboard “black box” data recorders. International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations require all new ships over 3,000 gross tons to be equipped with an approved VDR to assist investigators in reconstructing the events leading up to and following an incident at sea. Sperry Marine’s VoyageMaster II second-generation VDR system is designed with unique mission-critical architecture and “hot swap” technology, which allows near continuous operation while minimizing life-cycle costs. The system’s data acquisition unit contains industrial hardened components including an audio unit, a video module and an uninterruptible power supply. The protected data capsule is fully IEC/IMO type approved. The advanced bridge alarm unit provides diagnostic capabilities and has a crew activated “save” feature to store critical voyage data. As a standard feature, a removable memory module is included for easy data retrieval and playback analysis. A sensor interface unit is used for signal conditioning of analog, digital and serial data inputs. Sperry Marine’s simplified VDR (S-VDR) has also been type approved by BSH for retrofit on existing cargo ships to meet the IMO carriage requirements.