VDR/S-VDR
Vessels built after July 2002 are fitted with a VDR and existing vessels built prior thereto shall be fitted with a VDR (which may be an SVDR) by their next dry-docking after July 2006. Further, as per DGS requirement, VDR/SVDR shall have a float free capsule for easy recovery after an incident/accident. As the existing VDRs cannot be interfaced with a float free capsule, some vessels are fitted with a VDR as well as an SVDR with float free capsule to meet the requirements.
The purpose of a VDR is to maintain and store (in a secure and retrievable form) the information concerning the position, movement, physical status, command and control of a vessel over the period leading up to and following an incident, having an impact thereon. Information contained in a VDR/SVDR shall be made available to both the Administration and the Company. This information is for use during any subsequent investigation to identify the cause(s) of the incident. Since the equipment has facility to preserve a back up for 12 hours only, Master shall ensure that recorded data is stored safely and is available for analysis/reconstructing the scenario of sequences during the subsequent investigation, if any. The VDR/SVDR has to undergo an annual performance verification test (APT) by an authorised service engineer during the annual safety equipment survey and the certificate needs to be preserved for one year.
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