Page 65: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2000)

Commission proposals on the safety of the seaborne oil trade. The AMRIE Paper calls on the Commission to lead the way in introducing requirements for Black

Boxes to be fitted in all existing cargo ships, going beyond the IMO suggestion of new cargo ships only.

AMRIE believes that the speedy introduction of Voy- age Data Recorders to all vessels is imperative if the

Commission is to achieve a 'Safety Culture' in Ship- ping.

While such recommendations are generally heralded by organizations that sell, service and install the units

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Email: [email protected] aboard ships, the measure is not likely to illicit many cheers from the shipowning community due to the costs of purchasing, installing and maintaining the units. Despite anticipated protests regarding the matter, the shipping community is faced with a public relations crisis anytime it actively debates proposed safety mea- sures, and will most likely be brought to the change quickly and quietly.

Kongsberg Claims "World's First Complete VDR"

Kongsberg Norcontrol, an industry leader in ship automation systems, has released what it is calling the world's first voyage data recorder (VDR) fully satisfying IMO demands. Called Maritime Black Box (MBB), it plays the same role for ships as the flight recorder — gathering and storing vital data regarding ship opera- tions. Such information is key to improving vessel safety, which is cur- rently far below that of air travel, says

Kongsberg's Lehn-Pedersen.

The VDR is constructed of two main elements; a data-collecting unit (DCU), which collects information, and a pro- tected storage unit (PSU), which holds it. According to Lehn-Pedersen, the

MBB's storage unit is the first to meet all maritime authority demands. The stor- age unit protects the data against explo- sion, fire and deep-sea submersion. The

MBB combines expertise from both

Kongsberg and Thomson CFX Detexis, developer of black boxes for the aircraft industry. The two companies have teamed for the production and marketing of the unit.

A Newfoundland developed and pro- duced "black box" for ships is from Rut- ter Technologies. The recorder, official- ly known as the Rutter VDR-100 Voy- age Data Recorder, was on display at the offices of Sigma Engineering Ltd. recently. Sigma and another local firm.

Consolidated Technologies Ltd., came together to form Rutter, each bringing its own technology to work on the develop- ment of VDR. "The International Maritime Organiza- tion (IMO) has already passed a resolu- tion related to the performance standard for the mandated version of this product and the European Union has initiated a parallel initiative," says Byron Dawe, president of St. John's-based Rutter

Technologies Inc. VDR will interface with other navigational aids and record positioning data, compass heading, and orders and responses to and from the engine room. The recordings will also include all radar images and all sounds.

Consilium Navigation of Sweden has also entered the Black Box fray, offering a new VDR dubbed VDR M2, which it touts as fully compliant with IMO per- formance standard A861 (20), and Test

Standard IEC 61996. The VDR M2 also incorporates support for acoustic control of the bridge microphones, as well as support for final recording media. The final recording medium itself will be ready for delivery in early fall. Type approval of the system is in progress with BSH Ger- many. The system will be able to record up to four radars, and other non-mandatory sources of informa- tion, such as multiple high-resolution video inputs and

CCTV, as well as shipborne LAN data. Currently, Con- silium is fulfilling large orders for the new units to both

Royal Caribbean Cruises and Moby Line.

For information, circle appropriate number on the RSC:

Kongsberg Norcontrol 70

Rutter Technologies' VDR 1

Consilium Navigation's VDR 72

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