Maritime Compliance: Noise Levels on Board Ships

to SOLAS regulation II-1/3-1² are required to be constructed to reduce onboard noise and to protect personnel from the noise in accordance with IMO Resolution MSC.337(91), (“the Code”).

The Code was developed for conventional passenger and cargo ships. It does not apply to:

1. 1. 1. 1. dynamically supported craft;
         2. high-speed craft;
         3. fishing vessels;
         4. pipe-laying barges;
         5. crane barges;
         6. mobile offshore drilling units;
         7. pleasure yachts not engaged in trade;
         8. ships of war and troopships;
         9. hips not propelled by mechanical means;
         10. pile driving vessels; and
         11. dredgers.

The Code may, but is not required to, be applied to new ships³ of less than 1,600 GT as far as reasonable and practical, as per Code §1.3.3.

Although the Code is treated as a mandatory instrument under SOLAS, some provisions remain recommendatory, provide options for compliance, or are informative. A list of them can be found in Code §1.1.3.

To facilitate the global and consistent implementation of the Code, the application of the following IMO UIs:

1. 1. IMO Circular MSC.1/Circ.1509/Rev.1 – Unified interpretations of the Code on Noise levels on board Ships (Resolution MSC.337(91)); and
   2. IMO Circular MSC.1/Circ.1654 – Unified interpretations of the noise level limit in workshops on board ships.

Ship operators should familiarize themselves with the Code, including:

1. 1. Chapter 5 - Noise Exposure Limits (non-mandatory);
   2. Chapter 7 - Hearing Protection and Warning Information (§7.3 is non-mandatory); and
   3. Appendix 2 - Guidance on the Inclusion of Noise Issues in Safety Management Systems.

The Code requires a noise survey report to be available on board each ship.⁴

URN Guidelines

The revised guidelines on the reduction of URN (IMO Circular MEPC.1/Circ.906/Rev.1) may be applied to any ship, considering their design and construction, modifications, and operation.

The URN guidelines focus on identifying primary contributors to ship-generated URN and address general approaches that can be undertaken to reduce such noise for new builds and existing ships. More specifically, the guidelines:

1. 1. recommend URN Management Planning at the earliest design stages and for existing ships, as far as reasonable and practicable.
   2. include a useful table⁵summarizing the design, technical, operational, and maintenance URN reduction approaches.
   3. highlight the interrelationships between energy efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, and URN reduction.

Ship operators and Masters should implement, as appropriate, the operational adjustments and maintenance measures identified in the guidelines. This includes taking into consideration the guidelines for addressing URN in Inuit Nunaat and the Arctic (IMO Circular MEPC.1/Circ.907).

MLC, 2006

MLC, 2006 Standard A3.1.6(h) requires addressing the risk of exposure to hazardous levels
of noise and vibration in accommodation, recreational, and catering facilities.

Footnotes:

1Ships delivered before 1 July 2018 and contracted for construction before 1 July 2014 and the keels of which are laid or which are at a similar stage of construction on or after 1 January 2009, or in the absence of a building contract, the keels of which are laid, or which are at a similar stage of construction on or after 1 January 2009 but before 1 January 2015.

2Ships of 1,600 GT or more contracted for construction on or after 1 July 2014, or in the absence of a building contract, the keels of which are laid or at a similar stage of construction on or after 1 January 2015, or delivered on or after 1 July 2018, unless the Administration deems that compliance with a particular provision is unreasonable or impractical.

3 New ship means a ship to which the Noise Code applies in accordance with SOLAS regulation II-1/3-12.1.

4 The survey items for noise are addressed in IMO Resolution A.1186(33), Survey Guidelines under the Harmonized System of Survey and Certification (HSSC).

5 See IMO Circular MEPC.1/Circ.906/Rev.1 Table 1, page 9.

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