By
Rebecca Gibson |
International classification society Bureau Veritas (BV)has developed a voluntary notation intended to assist shipbuilders and operators reduce underwater noise radiating from ships.
The comprehensive set of standards and measuring services is grouped as NR614 Underwater Radiated Noise (URN). It aims to control and limit the environmental impact on marine fauna of all self-propelled ships and provide a system to assess compliance with specific vessel requirements for underwater radiated noise.
The standard covers both shallow and deep water conditions, sets out a dedicated comprehensive measurement procedure, and explains how to manage measurement uncertainties and sets specific underwater noise level requirements.
“Underwater noise radiating from ships is acoustic pollution and there is no doubt that it will be the next big area to be tackled by regulators,” said Jean-Francois Segretain, technical director, Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore Division. “This notation, backed by careful research with an extensive network of partners, means we can help designers, yards and operators to be ahead of regulation.
According to Segretain, reducing underwater noise directly helps to minimise noise and vibration levels onboard the ships, which improves passenger and crew comfort. It also helps to reduce fuel use and costs. “There is also a strong link between fuel efficiency and noise,” Segretain said. “Quieter ships burn less, and we can help make ships quieter and so more efficient.”
The URN notation has been introduced to help European stakeholders fulfil the requirements of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, which aims to improve the environmental state of European waters by proposing mitigation solutions to be put in place by 2016, with their efficiency proved by 2020.
The BV notation has been issued in parallel with the European research project AQUO, which is focused on underwater noise and involves 13 partners – including shipyards, hydrodynamics research institutes and bio-acoustic experts – from eight countries. An end user committee has also been developed to review the project, including BV’s notation.