1 | P a g e I MO P E R F O R MA N C E S T A N D A R D S F O R V D R
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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. 2 | P a g e I MO P E R F O R MA N C E S T A N D A R D S F O R V D R
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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 3 | P a g e I MO P E R F O R MA N C E S T A N D A R D S F O R V D R
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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 4 | P a g e I MO P E R F O R MA N C E S T A N D A R D S F O R V D R
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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, 5 | P a g e I MO P E R F O R MA N C E S T A N D A R D S F O R V D R
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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 .