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Voyage Data Recorders (VDR) are devices that gather, process and record sensor inputs from ships to provide valuable information following an incident. They are essentially maritime black boxes designed to help determine the root of marine accidents and aid in their prevention.

VDRs and S-VDRs have been fitted to all vessels with three tons gross or more that were built on or after 1 July 2002. A VDR/SVDR is an electronic storage medium that is able to stand up to pressures and shocks resulting from marine events like fire, collision or sinking.

The system is designed to collect data from a variety sensors on a ship as well as compressing and digitizing the data before storing it in a protective storage unit mounted externally. The tamperproof capsule is designed to withstand the severe heat, shock, impact and pressures that may be encountered in a marine accident like a collision or fire.

Members might want to think about upgrading their VDR/SDR systems to provide them with the ability to store data over longer periods. At present, the IMO performance standard only requires the VDR/S-VDR to keep data for up to 12 hours after an incident before it’s overwritten.

A growing number of manufacturers now offer a ‘MantaDigital’ S-VDR, which can be accessed remotely, similar to the way that airlines’ FDR data is analyzed after an incident. This enables onboard technical issues to be diagnosed remotely and facilitates the implementation of proactive maintenance processes. Regular shoreside playbacks help bridge teams in analyzing the patterns of their performance and identifying areas for improvement.