Michael Bahtiarian News

ISO 17208-1:2016, a new international standard for the measurement of underwater noise from ships, has been published by ISO. The full title of this standard is “Underwater acoustics – Quantities and procedures for description and measurement of underwater sound from ships – Part 1: Requirements for precision measurements in deep water used for comparison purposes”. The standard specifies the general measurement system, procedures, and methodology used for the measurement of underwater sound from ships under a prescribed operating condition. It is available for purchase from the ISO ans ANSI webstores. Noise Control Engineering, LLC (NCE), a leader in the field of shipboard noise control, led the effort to develop this standard.

Shipping may think they hear the sound of new regulations as they are slammed onto their desks. What is all the noise concerning noise at IMO? This may very well be the question from ship owners, operators and builders closely following activities at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). In 2013, IMO issued mandatory regulations for shipboard airborne noise and earlier this year IMO internal committees approved new draft guidelines for minimizing underwater noise. Even though the author advised the U.S.

A new voluntary consensus standard for the measurement of underwater noise from ships is now available from the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The new standard will be known as ANSI/ASA S12.64-2009/Part 1, “American National Standard, Quantities and Procedures for Description and Measurement of Underwater Sound from Ships- Part 1: General Requirements”. Noise Control Engineering, Inc. of Billerica, Mass. led the effort to develop the new standard having its Vice President Michael Bahtiarian chair the committee. NCE also provided significant administrative resources to completing the effort. “We started this effort to fill a need for NCE clients designing and building quiet research vessels,” noted Chair Bahtiarian.

NCE has recently doubled it office space in Billerica, Massachusetts by expanding into the adjacent office space. The new space will allow NCE to have a larger conference room and dedicated test & instrumentation area. Around the same time, Michael Bahtiarian a staff acoustical engineer at NCE for the past seven years was promoted to the position of Vice President. While the promotion is aimed to enhance NCE's position in the industrial noise control market, Bahtiarian will still be actively involved in shipboard noise control programs.

The development of an entirely new commercial standard for “Underwater Noise Measurement of Ships” will commence in early 2007. ANSI-Accredited Standards Committee S12 Committee on Noise recently voted unanimously to form a Working Group (WG) for the development of an underwater noise measurement standard. Currently, no voluntary consensus standard exists for performing underwater noise measurements of ships. For many years, the field of underwater noise from ships has been the exclusive specialty of the Navy. However, non-navy vessels are looking to be just as quiet so that they can perform better science. “Green Ships” are being conceived in order to have less emission into the ocean.