Danelec Marine on Bridging Ship Telematics Data Gap

 

Danelec Marine has published a White Paper that makes the case for using Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) technology to provide real-time access to data from shipboard systems and sensors. The White Paper, entitled “VDRConnect Bridges the Data Gap,” is available for free download at www.danelec-marine.com/news/white-paper-on-vdrconnect-remote-access-solution.aspx.

“The shipping industry has been slow to embrace the telematics revolution that is transforming other transportation sectors, primarily because of the expense and difficulty in extracting data from shipboard equipment and transmitting it via satellite to ship managers ashore,” said Hans Ottosen, CEO of Danelec Marine. “We believe the ship’s VDR, which is mandatory on virtually all cargo ships worldwide, can provide a low-cost, low-risk solution to overcome this data gap and make ship telematics a reality.”

“While the primary mission of the VDR is to record data for accident investigation, there is a strong case to be made for giving it a secondary role as the data hub for a shipboard telematics system,” said Ottosen. “If properly designed with selective remote access functionality, the VDR can become the centerpiece of a ship data collection network, enabling ship managers to optimize ship performance and efficiency.”

VDRConnect is a Web-based remote access platform, which provides selective transmission of data via satellite from the ship’s VDR to the home office. It is optimized for transmission over narrowband satellite channels. The ship manager ashore can log into an IP-based Web portal using a convenient dashboard on a computer or tablet to request specific data files to be downloaded from the Danelec VDR and to select intervals for automatic transmission.

VDRConnect is available with the new IMO-compliant Danelec DM100 VDR, and can easily be retrofitted on any of the 6,000-plus ships already equipped with a Danelec VDR or Simplified VDR (S-VDR).