Danelec Introduces VDRConnect at SMM14

At SMM 2014, Danelec Marine is unveiling VDRConnect, a Web-based remote access service available with the Danelec DM100 Voyage Data Recorder (VDR).

VDRConnect is a module that provides selective transmission of data from the Danelec DM100 via satellite to the home office. The module directly connects to the ship’s IT and satellite communication systems with no need for a separate PC.

With VDRConnect, the onshore ship manager can log into an IP-based Web portal using a convenient dashboard on a computer to request specific data files from the Danelec VDR and select intervals for automatic transmission. 

Hans Ottosen, CEO of Danelec Marine, said, “We perceived that the data collected by the VDR can have commercial value beyond the primary function of after-the-fact accident investigation, so we designed our remote access solution to facilitate easy, efficient and economic transfer of data from the VDR to the home office.”

“We optimized VDRConnect remote access for narrowband satellite channels,” said Ottosen. “Most commercial ships today have limited satellite capacity and satellite airtime is very expensive. With the VDRConnect solution, the ship manager does not have to download the full VDR memory, but can request only the data sets required and Sept. 8, 2014) – At SMM 2014, Danelec Marine control the frequency of transmission.”

Ottosen noted that the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) has called for proactive use of VDRs to enhance safety at sea. “OCIMF believes that the VDR can be a very useful tool for detecting unsafe practices, analyzing incidents and correcting navigational mistakes,” he said.

 “Using data from the VDR, the ship manager can set up remedial crew training, correct poor practices and create event-driven rules for parameters such as depth beneath keel at speed, traffic separation scheme adherence or voyage plans, with automatic warnings for deviations detected.”

Other shipboard systems not mandated by the IMO standard, such as fuel meters, main engines, generators, auxiliary machinery and weather sensors, can also be connected to the VDR.

“We see the possibility of the VDR becoming a shipboard clearing house for collection of data from all the ship’s systems and making it available for ship-to-shore download in an economical way,” said Ottosen.

VDRConnect can provide a portal for remote configuration of the VDR and reviewing data for the mandatory VDR Annual Performance Test before the service personnel board the vessel. It also can provide an immediate warning if any of the devices sending data to the VDR, such as GPS, radar, gyrocompass, speed log or depth sounder, should malfunction.

The DM100 is the first VDR to be type-approved and Wheel marked under the new IMO VDR Standard which came into force July 1. Since then, all VDR installations are required to be type-approved to comply with the new standard.