Voyage data recorder black box of ship


Voyage data recorder (VDR) is very important equipment on the bridge as it records and stores the critical parameters of ship, to facilitate reconstruction of an incident or accident for investigation or any other purposes. This equipment will help to identify the cause of the accident in need for investigation or for knowledge for mistake rectification from the crew. This equipment will increase the operational safety at sea.

IMO defines the VDR( Voyage data recorder) as a complete system required to have  :
  • Interface provided with sources of input signals
  • The processing and encoding of the signals
  • Final recording medium
  • The repeat back equipment
  • Power supply
  • Dedicated reserve power source
Benefits of VDR :
  • Investigation after an accident to understand the cause.
  • Increase the operational safety
  • Using the causes of specific accidents to use for future training of officers
  • Encourages of Promotion of the best practices to ensure operational safety at sea.
  • Reduction of insurance costs.
Information recorded by VDR :
  • Date and Time
  • Ship's position
  • Heading
  • Speed
  • Recording of bridge audio
  • Depth 
  • VHF communication
  • Main alarms
  • Revelutions per minute(RPM)
  • Echo sounder
Modules of VDR:
Voyage Data Recorder has four modules namely,
  • Data management Unit
  • Audio module
  • Final Recording Unit
  • Remote alarm module
Data Management Unit:
Data management unit will collect all the data and process them. With the help of various interfaces, data from various sources would be fed to this unit. They are collected and saved in a specific format.

Audio Module :
Various microphones may be placed on wheelhouse, bridge-wings, engine control room, and other critical places. This module will mix the audio from these places. Audio signals from VHF Communication will also be interfaced. The output of this module will be protected by a password to protect the identity of the crew.

Final recording module:
This module is used to store required data  in a crash survivable, pressure tight, fire and penetration resistant storage medium. This module is in the form of a capsule. It is resistant to fire, shock, immersion and deep sea pressure. The module is located in monkey Island or bridge wings to provide an easy access from outside.

Remote alarm module :
This module will generate audible and visual alarm to indicate the error status of any equipments. This module is such as a small panel connected to the data management unit. 

   There is a additional optional module called the relay station module. This module is used to download and replay the recorded data.