New Requirements for Noise Radiated from Ships: Pre-normative Formulations and Background

One of the aims of the SILENV project, funded by the E.U. within the 7FP, was the development of prenormative requirements regarding the impact of shipradiated noise into three different environments: onboard the vessel and outside it, in air and in water. The paper describes the background of the new formulations which generally take into account the existing requirements, the technical know-how in the field of ship construction about the characterization of noise source and transmission paths and the actual knowledge of the way noise affects the various categories of receivers involved. On these bases, objectives of the noise control are defined in the various areas and the final choices in terms of limits are reported, also highlighting the motivations at the basis of the requirements. Possible future trends in the redefinition of objectives for the control of noise and in normative developments are also discussed.