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IMO PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR
SHIPBOTNE VOYAGE DATA RECORDERS (VDR)

(FOR MMD PHASE II EXAMINATIONS)

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of a voyage dat a recorder ( VDR) is t o maint ain, i n a
secure and ret ri evabl e form, st ore of informat i on concerning t he
posi t i on, movement , physical st at us, command and cont rol of a vessel
over t he peri od l eadi ng up t o and foll owing an inci dent having an
impact t hereon. I nformat i on cont ained i n a VDR shoul d be made
avail abl e t o bot h t he Admini st rat i on and t he shi p- owner. Thi s
informat i on is for use duri ng any subsequent invest i gat i on t o i dent ify
t he cause( s) of t he i nci dent .

Shi ps of cl asses defi ned in SOLAS chapt er V, as amended, shall be
fi t t ed wi t h a VDR wit h capabilit ies not i nferi or t o t hose defi ned in t hese
performance st andards:

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

The VDR shoul d cont inuously mai nt ai n sequent ial records of:
Presel ect ed dat a i t ems rel at i ng t o t he st at us;
Out put of t he ship' s equi pment ; and
Command and cont rol of t he shi p.
To permit subsequent anal ysis of fact ors surrounding an inci dent , t he
met hod of recordi ng should ensure t hat t he vari ous dat a i t ems can be
co- rel at ed i n dat e and t i me duri ng pl ayback on sui t abl e equipment .
The final recording medi um shoul d be inst all ed in a prot ect i ve capsule
whi ch shoul d meet all of t he foll owing requi rement s:
be capabl e of being accessed foll owing an i nci dent but secure
agai nst t amperi ng.
maximi ze t he probabilit y of survival and recovery of t he fi nal
recorded dat a aft er any inci dent .
Shall be able t o wi t hst and pressure equi valent t o submergence
in sea wat er dept h of 6000 met ers.
May be fixed or fl oat - free t ype.
be of a highly visi bl e col or and marked wi t h ret ro- refl ect ive
mat eri al s; and
be fit t ed wit h an appropri at e devi ce t o ai d l ocat i on.
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Pl ayback equipment i s not normall y i nst all ed on a shi p and i s
not regarded as part of a VDR for t he purposes of t hese
performance st andards.

The unit shoul d be ent i rely aut omat ic i n normal operat i on. Means
shoul d be provi ded whereby recorded dat a may be saved by an
appropri at e met hod foll owi ng an inci dent , wi t h minimal int errupt i on t o
t he recordi ng process.


DATA SELECTION AND SECURITY

The equi pment shoul d be so desi gned t hat , as far as i s pract i cal , i t i s
not possi ble:
t o t amper wit h t he select i on of dat a bei ng i nput t o t he
equi pment ,
t he dat a i t sel f ,
nor t hat which has al ready been recorded.

Any at t empt t o int erfere wi t h t he int egrit y of t he dat a or t he recording
shoul d be recorded.
The recordi ng met hod shoul d be such t hat each it em of t he recorded
dat a i s checked for i nt egrit y and an alarm gi ven i f a non- correct able
error i s det ect ed.


FOLLOWING DATA ITEMS SHALL BE RECORDED

Dat e and t ime
Dat e and t ime, referenced t o UTC, shoul d be obt ai ned from a source
ext ernal t o t he shi p or from an int ernal cl ock. The recordi ng shoul d
indi cat e whi ch source is in use. The recordi ng met hod shoul d be such
t hat t he t imi ng of all ot her recorded dat a i t ems can be deri ved on
pl ayback wit h a resol ut i on suffici ent t o reconst ruct t he hi st ory of t he
inci dent in det ail.
Ship' s posit ion
Lat i t ude and l ongi t ude, and t he dat um used, shoul d be derived from
an elect roni c posi t i on- fixing syst em ( EPFS) . The recordi ng shoul d
ensure t hat t he i dent i t y and st at us of t he EPFS can al ways be
det ermi ned on pl ayback.
Speed
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Speed t hrough t he wat er or speed over t he ground, i ncludi ng an
indi cat i on of whi ch i t i s, derived from t he shi p' s speed and di st ance
measuri ng equi pment .
Heading
As indi cat ed by t he shi p' s compass.
Bridge Audio
One or more mi crophones posi t i oned on t he bri dge shoul d be pl aced so
t hat conversat i on at or near t he conning st at i ons, radar di spl ays, chart
t ables, et c., are adequat el y recorded. As far as pract i cabl e, t he
posi t i oning of mi crophones shoul d al so capt ure i nt ercom, public
address syst ems and audi ble alarms on t he bri dge.
Communicat ions Audio
VHF communi cat i ons rel at i ng t o shi p operat i ons shoul d be recorded.
Radar dat a, post - display select ion
Thi s shoul d i nclude elect roni c si gnal informat i on from wit hin one of t he
shi p' s radar i nst all at i ons whi ch records all t he i nformat i on whi ch was
act ually being present ed on t he mast er di spl ay of t hat radar at t he
t i me of recordi ng. Thi s shoul d incl ude any range rings or markers,
beari ng markers, el ect roni c pl ot t ing symbol s, radar maps, what ever
part s of t he SENC or ot her el ect roni c chart or map t hat were sel ect ed,
t he voyage pl an, navi gat i onal dat a, navi gat i onal al arms and t he radar
st at us dat a t hat were vi sibl e on t he di spl ay. The recordi ng met hod
shoul d be such t hat , on pl ayback, it i s possi bl e t o present a fait hful
repli ca of t he ent i re radar di spl ay t hat was on vi ew at t he t ime of
recordi ng, al beit wi t hin t he limit at i ons of any bandwi dt h compressi on
t echni ques t hat are essent i al t o t he worki ng of t he VDR.
Echo sounder
Thi s shoul d i nclude dept h under keel , t he dept h scal e current ly bei ng
di spl ayed and ot her st at us i nformat i on where availabl e.
Main alarms
Thi s shoul d incl ude t he st at us of all mandat ory al arms on t he bri dge.
Rudder order and response
Thi s shoul d incl ude st at us and set t i ngs of aut o- pil ot if fit t ed.
Engine order and response
Thi s should incl ude t he posit i ons of any engi ne t elegraphs or di rect
engi ne/ propeller cont rol s and feedback i ndicat i ons, i f fi t t ed, incl uding
ahead/ ast ern i ndi cat ors. Thi s shoul d al so incl ude st at us of bow
t hrust ers if fi t t ed.
Hull openings st at us
Thi s shoul d incl ude all mandat ory st at us informat i on requi red t o be
di spl ayed on t he bri dge.
Wat ert ight and fire door st at us
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Thi s shoul d incl ude all mandat ory st at us informat i on requi red t o be
di spl ayed on t he bri dge.
Accelerat ions and hull st resses
Where a shi p is fit t ed wi t h hull st ress and response monit ori ng
equi pment , all t he dat a i t ems t hat have been pre- sel ect ed wi t hi n t hat
equi pment shoul d be recorded.
Wind speed and direct ion
Thi s should be appli cable where a shi p is fi t t ed wi t h a sui t able sensor.
Ei t her rel at ive wi nd speed or t rue wi nd speed; and di rect i on may be
recorded, but an indi cat i on of whi ch i t i s shoul d be recorded.



INTERFACING

I nt erfacing t o t he vari ous sensors requi red shoul d be in accordance
wit h t he rel evant i nt ernat i onal i nt erface st andard, where possi ble. Any
connect i on t o any it em of t he ship' s equi pment should be such t hat t he
operat i on of t hat equi pment suffers no det eri orat i on, even if t he VDR
syst em devel ops fault s.


CONTINUITY OF OPERATION

To ensure t hat t he VDR cont inues t o record event s duri ng an
inci dent , i t shoul d be capabl e of:

Operat i ng from t he shi p' s emergency source of elect ri cal power.
I f t he shi p' s emergency source of elect ri cal power supply fails,
t he VDR shoul d cont inue t o record Bri dge Audi o from a
dedi cat ed reserve source of power for a peri od of 2 h. At t he
end of t hi s 2 h peri od all recording should cease aut omat i cally.
The t i me for whi ch all st ored dat a i t ems are ret ained shoul d be
at least 12 h. Dat a it ems whi ch are ol der t han t hi s may be
overwri t t en wi t h new dat a.
.

RELEVANT DEFINITIONS

Voyage dat a recorder ( VDR) :
I t means a complet e syst em, i ncludi ng any i t ems requi red t o int erface
wit h t he sources of input dat a, for processing and encoding t he dat a,
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t he fi nal recordi ng medi um i n i t s capsule, t he power suppl y and
dedi cat ed reserve power source.
Sensor:
I t means any uni t ext ernal t o t he VDR, t o whi ch t he VDR i s connect ed
and from whi ch i t obt ai ns dat a t o be recorded.
Final recording medium:
I t means t he it em of hardware on whi ch t he dat a is recorded such t hat
access t o i t woul d enable t he dat a t o be recovered and pl ayed back by
use of sui t able equi pment .
Playback equipment :
I t means t he equi pment , compat i bl e wit h t he recordi ng medi um and
t he format used duri ng recording, employed for recoveri ng t he dat a. I t
incl udes al so t he di splay or present at i on hardware and soft ware t hat i s
appropri at e t o t he ori ginal dat a source equi pment .
Dedicat ed reserve power source:
I t means a secondary bat t ery, wi t h suit abl e aut omat ic charging
arrangement s, dedi cat ed sol ely t o t he VDR, of suffi cient capaci t y t o
operat e i t .