Simplified Voyage Data Recorder News

Maintenance deficiencies and lack of adequate emergency procedures led to the November 7, 2013 loss of electrical power and grounding of the passenger ferry Princess of Acadia in Digby, Nova Scotia, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) found in its report, M13M0287. The incident caused no injuries or pollution. According to TSB, Princess of Acadia was approaching the ferry terminal at Digby, Nova Scotia with 87 passengers and crew aboard. In preparation for docking, as the bow thruster was started, the main generator blacked out causing a loss of electrical power and disabling the main propeller pitch control pumps. Once the pitch control pumps stopped…

Kongsberg Maritime launched a Simplified Voyage Data Recorder (S-VDR) designed to provide simple and cost effective retrofitting to meet IMO regulations. The Maritime Black Box S (MBBS) is based on the company’s Maritime Black Box (MBB), which has been installed on more than 200 vessels. The modular design of the MBBS is designed to make it simple to install on existing vessels. Each individual module complies with the environmental requirements specified in IEC 60945. without causing interference to existing systems.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the largest independent institution of its kind in the world, recently began developing a new piston corer for retrieving sediments from the ocean floor. Once complete in 2006, the deep-water coring system will be the largest in the U.S. and among the biggest in the world. The corer’s enormous weight — 25,000 pounds — coupled with the environmental demands associated with working in water up to 20,000 ft. deep presented major technical challenges to the system required to lower the corer to the sea floor then recover it, along with its ancient sediment samples. Located in Cape Cod, Mass.…

Kelvin Hughes Ltd., part of Smiths Marine Systems, has reached an agreement with MARCAS, The Marine Contracting Association, for the supply of Simplified Voyage Data Recorder (S-VDR) equipment to its membership. The total membership operates in excess of 700 ships. S-VDR equipment is now a mandatory carriage item of equipment for existing cargo vessels of 3,000 Gross Registered Tons and over. Systems must be installed on board ship between July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2010.

Northrop Grumman Corporation was awarded type approval by the U.S. Coast Guard for the Sperry Marine VoyageMaster II Simplified Voyage Data Recorder (S-VDR). The Coast Guard type approval certifies that the Sperry Marine S-VDR meets the International Maritime Organization (IMO) carriage requirements and International Electrotechnical Commission performance standards for “black box” recording devices on cargo ships. Similar to the cockpit recorders on aircraft, the S-VDR provides a permanent record of data from the ship’s sensors and audio recordings from the bridge for use in post-incident analysis. The S-VDR is a simplified version of the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR), which is currently required for all new ships constructed since 2002.

The U.S. Coast Guard has certified Northrop Grumman Corporation as an authorized annual service provider for shipboard voyage data recorders (VDRs). The certification was awarded to Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit, a leading supplier of VDR systems for commercial shipping fleets worldwide. Sperry Marine is authorized to conduct required annual performance tests on VoyageMaster VDR units. The shipboard inspections will be performed by Sperry Marine’s worldwide network of field service offices. Shipboard VDRs are similar to the “black box” cockpit data recorders used on aircraft, recording data from the ship’s sensors and audio from the bridge in a protective capsule that can be retrieved for analysis following an incident at sea.

Northrop Grumman Corporation been awarded type approval from the Italian classification society Registro Italiano Navale (RINA) for its Sperry Marine VoyageMaster II Simplified Voyage Data Recorder (S-VDR). The RINA type approval certifies that the Sperry Marine S-VDR meets the International Maritime Organization (IMO) carriage requirements and performance standards for mandatory “black box” recording devices to be installed on ocean-going ships. Similar to the cockpit recorders on aircraft, the S-VDR provides a permanent record of data from ship sensors and recordings of voice communications from the ship’s bridge for use in incident investigations. The S-VDR is a simplified version of shipboard voyage data recorders (VDRs), which are required on all new ships constructed since 2002.

Northrop Grumman Corporation unveiled a new Simplified Voyage Data Recorder (S-VDR) to meet the latest international carriage requirements for installing “black box” recording devices on existing cargo ships. The VoyageMaster II S-VDR was developed and is being marketed by Northrop Grumman’s Sperry Marine business unit. It has been designed to provide a cost-effective and space-saving solution to fulfill the carriage requirements for retrofit on existing cargo ships over 3,000 gross tons, while reducing the time required for installation, configuration and certification of the equipment. The VoyageMaster II system records and time stamps data from the radar and navigation sensors, as well as audio recordings from the bridge.

Kelvin Hughes Ltd. achieved Type Approval Certification from “Russian Maritime Register of Shipping” and “Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation” for MantaDigital Simplified Voyage Data Recorder – SVDR. Interest has increased in the SVDR and the comprehensive options offered by Kelvin Hughes. Fixed installation costs and extensive replay facilities support the offering of both fixed and float-free data capsules. Orders have been secured and delivered from Far East and European markets.

Expanding its position in the commercial marine sector, U.S.-based ACR Electronics, Inc. announced a new suite of ACR-branded bridge information technologies that, with agency approvals, will soon be made available to commercial shipping and yachting customers. These products stem from the earlier announced alliance with Norwegian-based Maritime Information Systems AS MARIS. This alliance combines ACR’s strengths in electronics design, manufacture and sales and marketing with MARIS’ systems and software expertise to create a formidable team. -- RAPIDTRACK Simplified Voyage Data Recorder (S-VDR) with either a Hardened Capsule or a Float Free 406 Memory Capsule. the need to move between instruments.