Acentech to Help Canadian Government Host Quiet Ship Design Workshops

Acentech has been awarded a contract from Transport Canada of the Canadian Government to provide high level technical, development and planning services for a series of workshops on quiet ship design. In order to advance international discussions on this matter, Transport Canada is working with Acentech and other partners to host two technical workshops, one in Halifax, Nova Scotia (November, 27-29, 2018) and one in London, England (January 29 to February 1, 2019). The workshops will be a primary vehicle for gathering expert information on reducing underwater noise through ship design.

Acentech’s lead will be Michael Bahtiarian, Principal Consultant and board certified noise control engineer with more than 20 years’ experience in quiet ship design. He will be a critical planning partner with Transport Canada and technical lead of the London workshop. He will also deliver a half-day program on quiet ship design on November 27, 2018 at the Halifax workshop, along with Mr. Roger Basu, formerly of American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Professor at the Webb Institute, who will be leading the Halifax workshop.

For more than a dozen years, scientists from around the globe have been studying something that humans normally don’t sense: increasing underwater noise and its effect on marine mammals and other sea life. One of their findings is that the level of underwater sound has been roughly doubling every 10 years. Most of this sound is man-made, from an ever-expanding fleet of ships. Researchers believe that intrusive sound is harming sea life. Whales in particular are being affected by increasing undersea sounds, as they depend on hearing to find food and each other. In response, in 2014 the International Maritime Organization, part of the United Nations, issued resolutions providing guidelines for the reduction of underwater noise from commercial ships. Now, four years later, further steps need to be taken as the problem continues to increase. These workshops are part of Canada’s contributions to advance international discussions on this vital issue. Acentech is proud to be a part of this important work.