Quieting Ships to Protect Environment

Acentech, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based noise, vibration and acoustical consulting firm, has issued its final report to Transport Canada concerning the Quiet Ship Workshop held at the International Maritime Headquarters (IMO) in London.

For Canada, this issue is part of a broader concern with the health of the oceans and waterways that surround the country and its marine eco-systems.

Canada’s oceans are home to 42 distinct populations of whales, in particular, the Southern Resident Killer whale, the St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga and the North Atlantic Right whale, one of the most endangered of all large whale species.

Over 140 subject-matter experts from around the world gathered at this event for two and a half days. The purpose of the workshop was to identify the state of knowledge on quiet ship design; provide an opportunity for international collaboration; and exchange research ideas.

Elevated anthropogenic underwater radiated noise (URN) in the oceans has been a known issue since the early part of the twenty-first century, and marine biology researchers have determined that the increase in underwater-radiated noise has multiple negative impacts on various species of marine life.

The key segments of the workshop were the breakout and plenary discussions. The areas of discussion included: marine biology impacts, propeller and hull design, machinery noise control, and predictive tools and measurements.

The breakout groups produced a large number of ideas and concepts aimed at solving the problem of excessive ship/shipping noise.