WHITE PAPER ON VDRConnect REMOTE ACCESS SOLUTION
DNL0005601.07.2015
Danelec systemsSolid • Safe • Simple
The transportation industry is undergoing a technologi-
cal transformation with the deployment of telematics
solutions that provide real-time access to data from
mobile platforms. To a large extent, this revolution has
been driven by the proliferation of high-speed wireless
connectivity, making it easy and cost-e�ective to transmit
data to and from vehicles on the move.
The maritime industry has been slow to embrace
telematics technology. That is mainly because ships on the
high seas are beyond the reach of high-speed wireless
links. Marine satellite networks are limited in bandwidth,
and air time is expensive. Thus, the starting point for a
ship telematics solution is bridging the data gap. This
means providing ship operating companies access to good
source data from their vessels as close to real-time as
possible, at a reasonable cost.
This is not an easy task. Gathering and processing data
from multiple shipboard sensors and systems can be
complex and expensive. It involves running cables and/or
setting up Wi-Fi connections with devices installed all over
the ship. Some of them may be virtually inaccessible.
Many may be 10 or more years old. While the marine
electronics community is starting to standardize on NMEA
serial data formats, many legacy devices may have their
own proprietary output formats and di�erent types of
input/output ports. That can mean lots of custom interfac-
es and external data conditioning devices. Outputs from all
these sources must be fed into a data acquisition unit and
computer, which sorts through the data, stores it and
converts it into a format that can be transmitted through
satellite channels to a shore o�ce.
There are a growing number of specialist marine data
analytics companies with sophisticated capabilities for
optimizing vessel performance and e�ciency, but these
companies do not typically have the expertise to install
complicated shipboard systems. Moreover, they do not
have the worldwide service network in place to service the
hardware at ports
around the globe.
Ideally, they would
prefer to receive the
data and do what they do best – analyze and recommend
measures to increase the ship’s performance, reduce
operating costs and improve e�ciency – and have some-
one else look after the shipboard hardware and software.
Fortunately, there is a solution at hand in the form of the
ship’s Voyage Data Recorder (VDR). If properly designed
with selective remote access functionality, the VDR can
become the centerpiece of a ship data collection network.
VDRConnect Bridges the Data Gap White paper on VDR remote access solution
BackgroundThe tragic sinking of the M/V Estonia with the loss of over
800 lives in 1994 triggered a movement within the maritime
industry for mandatory fitting of “black box” devices on
ships - similar to the flight data and voice recorders on
commercial aircraft. Accordingly, the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) adopted Resolution A.861 (20) in May
1999 establishing a VDR carriage requirement and dead-
lines for installation. The IMO rules were amended in 2005
to permit older ships built before July 1, 2002 to be
equipped with a simplified VDR (S-VDR) instead of a full VDR.
In 2012 the IMO adopted a new VDR specification, estab-
lishing additional requirements: a float-free capsule as well
as a fixed capsule, 48 hours protected data storage in both
capsules, 30 days unprotected memory in the VDR, at least
two tracks for bridge audio, images from two radars and
ECDIS, and data from the AIS. This new IMO standard came
into force July 1, 2014. Since that date, all new VDR installa-
tions must comply with the new standard.
Currently, all passenger ships and cargo ships over 3,000
gross tons built after July 1, 2002 must be fitted with a
type-approved VDR. Cargo ships over 3,000 gross tons
constructed before July 1, 2002, may meet the carriage
requirement with an S-VDR.
Why VDR?While the primary mission of the VDR is to record data for
accident investigation, there is a strong case to be made
for giving it a secondary role as the data hub for a
shipboard telematics system.
• The VDR is widespread. Every ship over 3,000 gross
tons built since 2002 is required to have an operational
type-approved VDR on board, and it is a very e�cient
data collection device already gathering and storing
much valuable data aboard the ship.
• The VDR is underutilized. The design function of a VDR
is to gather important safety information from certain
designated onboard systems. This data is stored until
needed for an accident or incident investigation (48
hours in the capsules, 30 days in the VDR). Some of this
data – position, speed and heading, depth, rudder order
and response, engine order and response, wind speed
and direction and main alarms – if made available in
near real-time, could also have commercial value to
help optimize vessel e�ciency and performance when
combined with key performance indicators from other
sources, such as fuel flow meters, engine RPMs, engine
temperatures, emission measuring devices, weather
instruments and other data points. There is no reason a
VDR cannot be designed and programmed to accept
data from other non-mandatory sources.
• The VDR is a low-cost, low-risk solution. Using the
VDR as a central data collection point and clearing
house would greatly reduce the cost of installing and
maintaining a dedicated data network with data cables
and/or Wi-Fi connections with numerous items of
equipment throughout the ship. Significantly, the major
VDR manufacturers also have a worldwide service
capability to conduct the mandatory annual perfor-
mance tests and service the systems at ports around
the globe.
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DATASTREAM
COLLECT SELECT TRANSFER
SolutionThis capability is now available to the maritime industry. In
2014 Danelec Marine unveiled VDRConnect, a web-based
remote access service available with the Danelec DM100 VDR.
VDRConnect is a value-added interface that provides selec-
tive transmission of data from the VDR via satellite to the
home o�ce.
The VDRConnect module connects directly to the ship’s IT
and satellite communication systems without the need for a
separate PC. The ship manager can log into an IP-based web
portal using a convenient dashboard on a computer or tablet
to manage downloads from the VDR.
ChallengesSo what are the barriers to implementing a VDR-based
ship telematics solution?
To make this work in an e�cient manner, the shore o�ce
must be able to request specific data sets and set the
frequency of automatic downloads of each data set.
Unfortunately, while legacy VDRs may have a playback or
data streaming function, this is typically an all-or-nothing
proposition. They were not designed to support selective
transmission of data sets on demand.
Most ships have limited satellite bandwidth capacity. With
the new IMO standard, the amount of data flowing into the
VDR is massive, primarily because of the additional audio
and video outputs being recorded. This makes it impracti-
cal and prohibitively expensive to dump the full VDR data
memory from ship to shore via satellite at frequent
intervals. Although the next generation of maritime
satellites will provide a substantial increase in bandwidth,
the great majority of ships will be using legacy Inmarsat
Fleet Broadband services for a number of years. Thus, the
VDR must be able to transmit smaller blocks of data
without doing a full data dump.
The logical solution is a capability designed into the VDR
to allow »push-through« and »pull-through« of data sets
from ship to shore. Ideally, it should take advantage of
cloud-based Internet connectivity for interfacing with the
home o�ce via a dashboard. The ship operations team
ashore should be able to query the VDR at any time
requesting data from specific sensors, and to set up a
schedule of downloads from each sensor. This would be
dynamically controlled by the computer. For instance,
when open-ocean steaming, they might request reports
every four hours, or even once a day for the noon report.
When the depth sounder shows shallower water readings
or the ECDIS shows the ship entering restricted waters,
the system could be configured to increase the reporting
interval automatically.
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STORE EXTRACT ANALYZE
The VDRConnect module is integrated in a 6-step process establishing a data stream from ship to shore which can be applied by multiple applica-tions – all controlled from shore!
VDRConnect is optimized for narrowband satellite channels.
You can transfer NMEA, digital and analog data records
from the VDR to shore at ten-minute intervals through a 64
kbps connection for as little as $1 USD per day per vessel.
ChallengesSo what are the barriers to implementing a VDR-based
ship telematics solution?
To make this work in an e�cient manner, the shore o�ce
must be able to request specific data sets and set the
frequency of automatic downloads of each data set.
Unfortunately, while legacy VDRs may have a playback or
data streaming function, this is typically an all-or-nothing
proposition. They were not designed to support selective
transmission of data sets on demand.
Most ships have limited satellite bandwidth capacity. With
the new IMO standard, the amount of data flowing into the
VDR is massive, primarily because of the additional audio
and video outputs being recorded. This makes it impracti-
cal and prohibitively expensive to dump the full VDR data
memory from ship to shore via satellite at frequent
intervals. Although the next generation of maritime
satellites will provide a substantial increase in bandwidth,
the great majority of ships will be using legacy Inmarsat
Fleet Broadband services for a number of years. Thus, the
VDR must be able to transmit smaller blocks of data
without doing a full data dump.
The logical solution is a capability designed into the VDR
to allow »push-through« and »pull-through« of data sets
from ship to shore. Ideally, it should take advantage of
cloud-based Internet connectivity for interfacing with the
home o�ce via a dashboard. The ship operations team
ashore should be able to query the VDR at any time
requesting data from specific sensors, and to set up a
schedule of downloads from each sensor. This would be
dynamically controlled by the computer. For instance,
when open-ocean steaming, they might request reports
every four hours, or even once a day for the noon report.
When the depth sounder shows shallower water readings
or the ECDIS shows the ship entering restricted waters,
the system could be configured to increase the reporting
interval automatically.
Ship-2-shore big data for 1 dollar per day
Watertight & fire doors Echo sounder Speed log Thrusters
Radar
Main alarms
Bridge audio
VHF
AIS
GPSGyro compass
Inclinometer
Anemometer Radar
ECDIS
Engine/propellerRudder
Hullopenings
Remote Monitoring and ServiceVDRConnect can provide a portal for remote configuration
of the VDR and reviewing data for the mandatory VDR
annual performance test or trouble shooting a problem
with the VDR before the
service personnel board
the vessel. It can also
provide an immediate
warning if any of the
devices sending data to
the VDR, such as GPS,
gyrocompass, speed log
or depth sounder, should
malfunction. Such a
solution could be
implemented easily.
There are a number of short-term and long-term applications for this capability:
Ship’s Performance OptimizationVDRConnect has been designed to accept
connections with other systems not mandat-
ed by the IMO VDR standard, such as fuel
meters, main engines, generators, emission
monitors and auxiliary machinery. The VDR
can thus become the data collection center in a ship-wide
IT data network, serving as a clearing house for data from
all the ship’s systems and sensors and making it availa-
ble for selective ship-to-shore download in an economical
way, to enhance fuel e�ciency and voyage optimization.
Enhanced SafetyThe 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 useful tool for detect-
ing unsafe practices, analyzing incidents and correcting
navigational mistakes. Using data from the VDR, the ship
manager can set up remedial crew training, correct poor
practices and create event-driven roles for parameters such
as depth beneath the keel at speed, tra�c separation
scheme adherence or voyage plans with automatic warnings
for deviations detected. This could be implemented
immediately, since it does not require any new cabling or
links with non-mandatory ship systems or sensors.
1.
2.
Remote Monitoring and ServiceVDRConnect can provide a portal for remote configuration
of the VDR and reviewing data for the mandatory VDR
annual performance test or trouble shooting a problem
with the VDR before the
service personnel board
the vessel. It can also
provide an immediate
warning if any of the
devices sending data to
the VDR, such as GPS,
gyrocompass, speed log
or depth sounder, should
malfunction. Such a
solution could be
implemented easily.
Ship’s Performance OptimizationVDRConnect has been designed to accept
connections with other systems not mandat-
ed by the IMO VDR standard, such as fuel
meters, main engines, generators, emission
monitors and auxiliary machinery. The VDR
can thus become the data collection center in a ship-wide
IT data network, serving as a clearing house for data from
all the ship’s systems and sensors and making it availa-
ble for selective ship-to-shore download in an economical
way, to enhance fuel e�ciency and voyage optimization.
In summary, a modern state-of-the-art VDR, designed to support selective remote access, can bridge the data gap and help make ship telematics a reality.
3.
HIGH QUALITYPRODUCT DESIGN
• Dependable operation | Equipment that is built to be at sea
Danelec products are based on an application-specific design to ensure
extreme reliability. Fewer components mean fewer points of failure, resulting in
the highest MTBF in the industry.
• Future proof | Never obsolete, always supported
We guarantee serviceability of our products during their lifetime for a minimum
of 10 years. Since our products are developed in-house, we have full control
over all components.
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OPERATION & MAINTENANCE• Information at your fingertips | Capture shipboard data and put it to use
Our range of remote access solutions enable instant and cost-optimized access
from shore to ship, so that you can harness the power of big data for informed
decisions and more e�cient asset management.
• Maximize uptime | Rest assured your ship sails on schedule
Our exclusive SWAP technology™ enables fast and easy replacement of equipment
in case of failure, without reinstalling software and reconfiguring the system.
SAFETYFIRST
OPTIMIZATIONOF OPERATIONS
TOTAL COSTOF OWNERSHIP
Safety at sea is priority #1 Enhance fleet operational e�ciency Maximize return on investment
SERVICE & SUPPORT• Immediate support anywhere | There is always a service tech near your ship
Our extensive global network of service centers carry spare parts and provide
service repairs 24/7 with 500+ factory-certified techs in 50+ countries.
• World class service | Consistent, e�cient and transparent
Danelec eService platform™ automates and streamlines traditional manual
processes, bringing unprecedented levels of consistency and e�ciency to
shipboard service.
Danelec Marine A/S • Blokken 44 • 3460 Birkeroed Denmark • T: +45 4594 4300 • www.danelec-marine.com
Danelec systemsSolid • Safe • Simple
WE PROVIDE THE MOST EFFICIENT PRODUCT AND SERVICE SOLUTION TO THE MARITIME INDUSTRY
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Danelec eService platform™
Remote access solutions
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