SDC 12: Shipping Must Expedite Action on Underwater Noise – Clean Shipping Coalition

LONDON: As a meeting of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 12) opened on Monday in London, the Clean Shipping Coalition called for member states to ensure that technical needs that directly support policy tools are prioritised and not delayed by IMO member states, and that member states expedite action to reduce underwater noise from shipping globally.
 
“SDC 12 provides an opportunity for member states to ensure that shippers are getting clear technical guidance on the work they need to do in order to advance IMO policies that will assure the reduction of shipping noise”, said Sarah Bobbe, Senior Manager, Arctic Program at Ocean Conservancy. “So far, this work remains insufficient relative to the growing threats faced by regions experiencing increased shipping traffic, such as the Arctic, underscoring the need for parallel policy advancement through the IMO’s Marine Environmental Protection Committee in the coming months.”
 
For many marine organisms sound is the most important means of communication. Under water vision is restricted and without good hearing ability, elementary functions such as navigating, finding prey and partners can be hampered. This is of particular importance for marine mammals, and also for fish and even invertebrates.
 
Submitted by the Clean Shipping Coalition, SDC 12/8/3 shares the findings of a study on the potential underwater radiated noise (URN) impacts of LNG development on marine mammals in the Gulf of California. The paper examines the potential effects of URN from LNG tanker traffic on migratory and resident whales, as well as related impacts on air quality and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The proposed LNG terminals and the resulting increase in LNG tanker traffic are expected to pose serious threats to the Gulf of California’s unique biodiversity and conservation areas, including those designated as a UNESCO “World Heritage Site” and “Important Marine Mammal Areas”. These developments increase the risks of air, water, and underwater noise pollution. Given the Gulf of California’s critical ecological role—particularly as a habitat for resident and migratory marine megafauna—a precautionary approach to industrial development is essential. It is increasingly evident that the region’s ecological integrity is incompatible with the scale and nature of heavy marine traffic associated with proposed LNG facilities. 

Many regions, such as in the Arctic and the Gulf of California in Mexico, share similar potential impacts from underwater noise, and both have seen low shipping traffic in the past. Shipping traffic has been increasing in the last decade in the Arctic, while in the Gulf of California the developing LNG infrastructure will bring unprecedented vessel traffic to a marine area with enormous ecological value, in particular for marine mammals. 

“Our recommendations to SDC 12 for the Gulf of California are equally important for the Arctic as both regions could see devastating impacts from future increased shipping, especially from LNG tankers, for marine wildlife particularly sensitive to noise, like marine mammals”, said Andrew Dumbrille, Co-Founder and Director of Equal Routes. “The recommendations include: acknowledging the irreversible impacts of underwater noise caused by LNG tanker traffic on marine mammals’ behaviours and habitat; promoting the development of ship design that takes into account the serious damage underwater noise causes to the marine habitat; and opposing LNG traffic in critical ecological marine areas because of, among others, the underwater noise pollution it causes, affecting marine mammals and other marine species. Both the Gulf of California and the Arctic are marine areas of incredible ecological, social and biodiversity importance for the planet, the impacts of increased noise would change the quality of the marine habitats irrevocably.”
 
Relevant IMO Paper Submissions

• SDC 12/8*: Experience-Building Phase for the Reduction of Underwater Radiated Noise From Shipping – Report of the Correspondence Group
• SDC 12/8/3: Potential Underwater Noise from Shipping Impacts of LNG Development on Marine Mammals in the Gulf of California
• SDC 12/8/6: Experience-Building Phase for the Reduction of Underwater Radiated Noise From Shipping – Comments on document SDC 12/8
•  SDC 12-INF.17 – Spatio-temporal information on Arctic whale migration routes for consideration in voyage planning and other measures to reduce the impacts of underwater radiated noise on marine life 

 
About Underwater Noise:
For many marine organisms sound is the most important means of communication. Under water, vision is restricted and without good hearing ability, elementary functions such as navigating, finding prey and partners can be hampered. This is of particular importance for marine mammals, and also for fish and even invertebrates.
 
The most important source of continuous underwater noise in shipping is cavitation, or production of vacuum bubbles by propellers. The noise produced by this process leads to masking, where the frequency of ship noise overlaps with sound produced and used by marine mammals.