The board of the Global Partnership for Mitigation of Underwater Noise from Shipping (GloNoise Partnership) project has endorsed the extension of the initiative until December 2026 to continue global efforts to reduce underwater radiated noise (URN) from ships, according to IMO's release.
During its mid‑term project board meeting on 15 July 2025, 34 representatives from the project’s Lead Pilot Countries, Twinning Partner Countries, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretariat reviewed progress, the work plan and the budget, and approved the extension.
Member States highlighted concrete actions over the past year to address URN threats, ranging from acoustic research and data collection to stakeholder engagement, policy reforms and awareness raising.
In Argentina, coordinated by Prefectura Naval Argentina, two working groups on hydroacoustics and ship design are engaging stakeholders to advance hydrophone‑based measurements, propeller efficiency upgrades, engine room insulation and a national URN data repository.
Chile integrates URN into marine environmental and spatial planning through coordination among port, inspection and biodiversity agencies and supports regional collaboration.
Costa Rica hosted a workshop in May linking URN to national and regional ocean protection efforts and strongly supported regional peer learning 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, enhancing monitoring capacity via academic partnerships and promoting South‑South cooperation. South Africa, under ‘Operation Phakisa’ with Navy support, has engaged fisheries, academia and indigenous communities on acoustic research and plans to pilot real‑time measurement tools, share data with IMO and promote regional exchange.
Trinidad and Tobago launched high school trainings on URN and a national awareness brochure and called for practical solutions for Small Island Developing States and regional data‑sharing across the Caribbean.
The GloNoise board includes representatives of Lead Pilot Countries, Twinning Partner Countries, IMO and UNDP.
The IMO adopted revised Guidelines for the Reduction of Underwater Radiated Noise from Commercial Shipping (MEPC.1/Circ.906/Rev.1) in July 2023, entering into force on 1 August 2023. A subsequent three‑year “experience‑building phase” (EBP) was launched in 2024 to collect data on implementation and best practices, with the EBP scheduled to run through 2026 and possibly extended by up to two years depending on the lessons learned.
The GloNoise Partnership, launched following the signing of its project document in December 2023, was designed to support this experience‑building phase by assisting developing countries in capacity building, toolkit deployment and data collection for policy dialogue.
International Maritime Organization (IMO) is a specialized United Nations agency responsible for regulating international shipping, including development of guidelines and frameworks for marine environmental protection.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the UN’s development network, collaborating with the IMO and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to support implementation of global environmental partnerships.
Global Environment Facility (GEF) is an international financial mechanism that funds environmental projects.