Page 64: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2000)

Welcome The Little Black Box

There is a groundswell of commitment for mandating the installation of "black boxes" aboard ships, so that in the in the unlikely case of a disaster, history will not repeat itself. At an estimated cost of $75,000 to $150,000 per ship, however, safety will not come cheaply.

If it has not already, in a few years time the name Erika will conjure many of the same emotions and financial achings as the name Valdez. The tanker that broke up and sank off the coast of

France just prior to Christmas 1999 has resulted in a veritable groundswell of political and industry activity which will likely result in fundamental changes to the way in which ships — particularly those carrying oil products or hazardous materials — are outfitted and operated.

The 25-year-old ship, which before its sinking had been inspected and stamped suitable for operation by Italian classifi- cation society RINA, has had profound effects, already, on everything from tanker rates — which are soaring due to

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Circle 239 on Reader Service Card fear surrounding older tonnage, to clas- sification societies, which are now under a public and political microscope. 64

Surveillance for Safety?

While the notion of outfitting ships with Voyage Data Recorders (VDR) — a.k.a. "Black Boxes" — had previously been linked primarily to passenger-car- rying vessels, since Erika the concept of outfitting other ships has picked up momentum. "The IMO felt it was past time to take some sort of action to improve safety at sea," said Jon Fredrik Lehn-Pedersen, vice president, navigation, Kongsberg

Norcontrol. "Their solution was the

VDR directive."

Safety, as always, comes at a price, and it's a price that most shipowners, particularly those operating large fleets, will have a tough time swallowing.

According to Norcontrol, a complete

MBB system with Protected Storage

Unit and Replay Unit will cost about $90,000, with commissioning and engi- neering not included. For a complete system stipulated by IMO and the Nor- wegian Ship Owners Association, expect a price range for an IEC 61996 compatible system to vary from $75,000 to $ 150,000, depending on the complex- ity of the system.

Much as in the airline industry, VDRs would be utilized to capture and main- tain critical shipboard information that could be recovered and analyzed in the event of a ship sinking. In turn, the information could be analyzed and used to not only discover an accident's likely cause, but to enact design changes that ensure that future such incidents could be avoided.

The IMO has adopted the Voyage Data

Recorder requirement as part of the revised SOLAS directive, which is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2002. It now awaits ratification by the individual national governments.

Once these sanctions are in place.

Voyage Data Recorders will be required on passenger ships as well as ships car- rying hazardous cargo like oil, gas and chemicals. Within seven years all ves- sels over 3,000-grt must employ VDRs.

Approximately 30,000 ships will fall under the directive.

Just last month the Alliance of Mar- itime Regional Interest in Europe (AMRIE) presented a series of recom- mendations aimed at improving levels of oil tanker safety in response to recent

Maritime Reporter/Engineering News

Kongsberg's marine black box.