During the 3rd UN Ocean Conference (June 9 to 13), Ministers from Panama and Canada – along with leaders from 35 other countries as well as the European Union as a whole – officially launched the High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean, the first global political coalition dedicated to reducing harmful ocean noise pollution.
Ministers from around the world gathered in Nice, France, to sign the Coalition’s Declaration, which outlines a shared commitment to mitigate the growing threat of underwater noise and reduce impacts to marine life. The Coalition’s Declaration outlines an ambitious agenda, including:
- Advancing quieter ship design and operations through the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
- Taking noise reduction measures into account in the creation and management of marine protected areas.
- Implementing solutions to reduce vessel noise and other shipping-related impacts on sensitive marine wildlife.
- Supporting capacity-building through shared tools and technologies, such as those from the IMO’s GloNoise Partnership.
The launch of the Coalition underscores the growing international resolve to tackle ocean noise pollution as a key threat to marine biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Underwater noise pollution from multiple sources – particularly the continuous noise from commercial shipping – negatively impacts marine life, interfering with their ability to communicate, navigate and hunt, threatening marine biodiversity at a planetary scale.
Juan Carlos Navarro, Panama’s Environment Minister, said ocean noise has often been ignored but the Coalition commits to protecting marine biodiversity from this threat. Meanwhile, Stéphane Dion, Canada’s Ambassador to France and Monaco, stressed the need for global cooperation, highlighting Canada’s leadership and inviting partners to work toward quieter, healthier oceans and sustainable economies.
The Coalition launch included Indigenous leaders, industry, and NGOs, showing growing consensus on tackling ocean noise to meet biodiversity and climate goals.
Carlos Bravo from OceanCare explained marine life depends on sound for survival and said affordable solutions exist to reduce noise and emissions, calling the Coalition a hopeful step. Additionally, Dr. Bev Mackenzie of BIMCO noted the shipping industry sees underwater noise as a challenge and said innovations can cut noise and emissions, with the Coalition helping align governments and industry on solutions.
To remind, in 2023, the IMO MEPC approved the Revised guidelines for the reduction of underwater radiated noise from shipping to address adverse impacts on marine life. These guidelines, which took effect from 1 October 2023, aim to reduce underwater radiated noise from ships and concern particular ship and equipment designers, shipbuilders and shipowners and operators, classification societies, suppliers, manufacturers and other stakeholders.
