Sperry Marine, a business unit of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), has launched a new Web-based interactive tool to help ship owners and shipyards quickly determine the voyage data recorder (VDR) carriage requirements for new and existing ships.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations require certain types of ships to be fitted with an approved VDR over the next two years. The deadline for compliance varies according to the type and size of ship, date of construction and trading areas. The "VDR Calculator" makes it easy to determine the correct deadline for any ship to meet the IMO and European Union rules.

The "VDR Calculator" is now available on the www.sperry-marine.com Web site. The user is prompted to enter the type of ship, date of construction and trading routes, and the VDR Calculator provides the appropriate carriage requirement data.

Sperry Marine is a leading supplier of VDRs to the international maritime industry. VDRs are similar to the "black box" cockpit data recorders used on commercial airliners, providing secure storage of voice recordings from bridge watchstanders and data from key ship navigation and control systems for retrieval by investigators following incidents at sea. Sperry Marine's VoyageMaster VDR system is type approved by Det Norske Veritas, QinetiQ, BSH and other authorities to meet the IMO carriage requirements.

Sperry Marine, with worldwide headquarters in Charlottesville, Va., is part of Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems sector. The business unit provides smart navigation and ship control solutions for the international marine industry under the Sperry Marine, Decca and C. Plath brand names, with customer service and support through offices in 16 countries, sales representatives in 47 countries, and authorized service depots in more than 250 locations worldwide.

Headquartered in Baltimore, Md., Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems is a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of defense electronics and systems including airborne radar systems, navigation systems, electronic warfare systems, precision weapons, air traffic control systems, air defense systems, communications systems, space systems, marine systems, oceanic and naval systems, logistics systems, and automation and information systems.