NEPTUNES, a project organisation that consists of 11 ports and was established two years ago by the port of Rotterdam to mitigate shipping noise, presented the noise label at a conference in Rotterdam on March 28.
NEPTUNES stands for Noise Exploration Program To Understand Noise Emitted by Seagoing Ships.
At the conference the project presented recommendations for measures, classification and reduction of noise emissions by vessels when berthed in ports.
Additionally to Rotterdam, the following ports are also involved in this initiative: Amsterdam, Turku, Hamburg, Vancouver, Gothenburg, Cork, New South Wales, Koper, Stockholm and Copenhagen-Malmö.
Ronald Paul, COO at the Port of Rotterdam Authority stated
The Port of Rotterdam Authority is delighted with this new approach. Until now, sea-going vessels only need to adhere to noise standards in the area of working conditions. But residents in the vicinity of berths are also confronted with noise pollution.
Moreover, the basis for the quality mark is a measurement protocol provided by NEPTUNES.
The uniform measurement of shipping noise enables various types of vessels to be classified from 0 to 100 points. This concerns both the typical low-frequency noise and total noise levels.
Concluding, port authorities and other organisations can use this index to reward quieter vessels.
