Since July 2014, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has required that voyage data must be recorded in a capsule that would detach and float free to the surface when exposed to saltwater. The 'float free' feature is now included when a shipowner gets a shipboard voyage data recorder (VDR), the 'black box' of the maritime sector, installed to a fixed casing attached to the bridge. However, because the lifespan of a VDR is about 10 years, and because vessels are allowed to grandfather in the float-free rule until their VDRs require replacement, information that could shed light on the fatal sinking of US container ship El Faro in the Caribbean last October may have been lost. El Faro's VDR, which was not a float-free device, has yet to be found.
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机译：自2014年7月起，国际海事组织（IMO）要求必须将航行数据记录在一个胶囊中，该胶囊在暴露于盐水中时会分离并自由漂浮在水面。现在，当船东获得船上航海数据记录器（VDR）时，就包括了“无漂浮物”功能，这是海上部门的“黑匣子”，安装在与桥相连的固定壳体上。但是，由于VDR的寿命大约为10年，并且由于允许船舶在无浮动规则下沿用其祖父的身分，直到需要更换其VDR为止，因此有关信息可能揭示了美国集装箱船El Faro在加勒比海沉没的致命事故去年10月可能已经丢失。 El Faro的VDR并非无浮标装置，目前尚未找到。
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