The board of the GloNoise Partnership for Mitigation of Underwater Noise from Shipping project has endorsed the extension of the initiative until December 2026, to continue global efforts to reduce underwater radiated noise (URN) from ships.
During its Mid-term Project Board meeting (15 July 2025), 34 representatives from the project's Lead Pilot Countries and Twinning Countries, along with UNDP and the IMO Secretariat reviewed the project's yearly progress, work plan and budget, and approved the extension.
Member States also highlighted concrete actions taken over the past year to address URN threats, ranging from acoustic research and data collection to stakeholder engagement, policy reforms and awareness raising.
National efforts in the spotlight
- Argentina: Coordinated by Prefectura Naval Argentina, two working groups on hydroacoustics and ship design engage stakeholders to advance hydrophone-based measurements, propeller efficiency upgrades, engine room insulation and a national URN data repository.
- Chile integrates URN into the country's marine environmental and spatial planning, coordinating among port, inspection and biodiversity agencies. It supports regional collaboration to share knowledge and align monitoring across Latin America.
- Costa Rica hosted a workshop in May to bring together ports, NGOs and academia, linking URN to national and regional ocean protection efforts. Costa Rica strongly supported regional peer learning and knowledge-sharing among Spanish-speaking countries.
- India is adapting the GloNoise toolkit for ports and integrating URN into maritime and coastal planning, as noted in its MEPC 82 submission. It is enhancing monitoring capacity through academic partnerships and remains committed to advancing South-South cooperation for science-based solutions.
- South Africa has engaged fisheries, academia and indigenous communities on URN efforts, coordinated under 'Operation Phakisa' with support from the Navy for acoustic research. The country plans to pilot real-time measurement tools, share data and best practices with IMO and promote regional exchange.
- Trinidad and Tobago launched high school trainings on URN and a national awareness brochure. The country called for practical solutions for Small Island Developing States as well as regional data-sharing across the Caribbean.
Participants reiterated the importance of long-term cooperation and capacity building across participating countries. The GloNoise board includes representatives of Lead Pilot Countries, Twinning Countries, IMO and UNDP.
About GloNoise Partnerships
The Global Partnership for Mitigation of Underwater Noise from Shipping (GloNoise Partnership) project is part of broader efforts by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), to address the impacts of underwater noise on marine life. It focuses on four key components:
- developing a global toolkit and conducting policy analysis;
- capacity building and raising awareness in participating developing countries;
- fostering partnerships for mitigating underwater radiated noise (URN) from shipping, and
- monitoring, learning, adaptive feedback, and evaluation.
The project has nine beneficiary countries, including six Lead Pilot Countries (LPCs): Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, India, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago, and three Twinning Partner Countries: Georgia, Madagascar, and Malaysia.
