WWF calls for stronger underwater noise measures at IMO shipping negotiations

London, UK – The guidelines meant to reduce the adverse effects of underwater noise from shipping have been updated for the first time in nine years at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC) meeting this past week, from 23-27 January 2023.

While the revised guidelines include updated information, they are unlikely to drive uptake by the shipping industry. With underwater noise from shipping doubling in the world’s oceans each decade, WWF wants to see strong, mandatory regulations on underwater noise.

One of the major barriers to uptake of the guidelines since 2014 has been their non-mandatory nature. Once approved at IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in July 2023, they will remain voluntary. To increase uptake, WWF will recommend that a mandatory instrument be considered as part of the proposed next steps.

The revised guidelines include some advice for ships operating in Arctic waters and recognise Indigenous Knowledge in understanding and managing this issue, thanks to the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s (ICC) participation at IMO. ICC has also called for including an ‘Arctic Annex’ in the guidelines as a way to account for the special case of the Arctic marine environment, which is particularly sensitive to underwater noise.

The Arctic Council’s Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment (PAME) working group found that between 2013-2019 there was a substantial increase in underwater noise pollution across the Arctic. In some parts, underwater noise pollution doubled. During the corresponding time frame of the report, the number of ships operating in Arctic waters grew by 25 per cent and the distance they sailed increased 75 per cent.

Sea ice acts as a sound buffer, and until recently, has limited the amount of shipping and industrial activity in the Arctic. Marine mammals use echolocation to communicate, navigate, feed and find mates. Underwater noise pollution is known to cause stress to the mammals as well as disrupt their natural migration patterns, feeding and mating.

Melanie Lancaster, Senior specialist, Arctic species, WWF Arctic Programme:

“This week at IMO, there was much interest from governments and the shipping industry to revise the guidelines, with the intent to make them more accessible to the industry. While we hope this will translate into enthusiastic action, we will continue advocating for stronger regulation, globally and in the Arctic. The Arctic Ocean is the last ocean on earth to remain relatively unpolluted by underwater noise, yet the region is experiencing immense pressure from climate change and increased industrial development. Marine life in the Arctic, from mussels to bowhead whales, cannot afford another nine years of inaction”.

Doris Woo, Project Manager, cetacean conservation, WWF Hong Kong:

“WWF proposes the revised guidelines to apply not just to protected areas, but all areas with seasonally high densities of noise-sensitive marine life, such as critical marine mammal migratory routes identified in the Protecting Blue Corridors Report, a collaboration between WWF and scientists. This will better conserve these important areas and reduce adverse impacts of shipping noise on marine wildlife at early stages such as voyage planning.”

For further information:

Andrea Norgren | Sr. Manager Communications, WWF Arctic Programme | andrea.norgren@wwf.se