Annex - Guidelines on Annual Testing of VDR and S-VDR

  1 The annual testing of VDR/S-VDR required by SOLAS regulation V/20 should be carried out by the manufacturer or a person authorized by the manufacturer.

  2 The examination of the VDR/S-VDR installation should include:

• .1 confirmation that no alarms are present prior to commencement of the test;

• .2 confirmation that when the external power is removed the power supply alarm is activated, the equipment continues to operate for at least 1 h 55 min and automatically stops recording no later than 2 h 5 min after the external power is removed;

• .3 confirmation that the acoustic beacon is functional using the appropriate manufacturer’s test equipment or by the substitution of a certified fully operational unit;

• .4 confirmation that the overall condition of the equipment is satisfactory and that any batteries within the equipment (acoustic beacon and power supply) are in date;

• .5 confirmation that accurate maintenance records of the VDR are available;

• .6 confirmation that the items to be recorded, specifically those data items available and required to be recorded at the time of original commissioning as defined in resolution A.861(20) and resolution MSC.163(78) for VDR and S-VDR, respectively, are satisfactorily stored for the duration of the 12-hour recording period;

• .7 confirmation that the capsule float-free arrangements, where required or fitted, are satisfactory as originally accepted at commissioning; and that any battery, release mechanism or other datable items are within their expiry date; and,

• .8 confirmation that the equipment is restored to normal operation mode following completion of the tests.

  3 The manufacturer must complete a review, record any changes and issue the completed test report within 45 days. To accommodate performance checks to align with the appropriate survey under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC), the annual performance check may be carried out up to 3 months before the due date for a passenger ship and -/+ 3 months of the due date for a cargo ship. (The maximum period between subsequent checks is, therefore, 15 months for passenger ships and 18 months for cargo ships, unless either certificate has been extended as permitted by SOLAS regulation I/14, in which case a similar extension may be granted.)

  4 The annual test should be recorded in the form of the model test report given in the appendix to this document. If the language used is neither English nor French nor Spanish, the text should include a translation into one of these languages.