Imagine living next to a concert, awful, right? Unfortunately, this is the reality for most wildlife underwater. Sound travels 4.5 times faster underwater than in the air, so that has long turned our busy shipping lanes into a “great tragedy” for marine life. Luckily, a wave of innovation led by a handful of projects is proving we are finally ready to give the ocean the silence it truly deserves.
This includes initiatives from countless projects around the world. From February 2025, the High Seas Treaty officially entered into force, providing the first legal framework to regulate “acoustic footprints” in international waters. While the law builds the shield, LOWNOISER provides the sword. Supported by the EU, the project is currently validating tech on five full-scale vessels, including the eco-cruiser MS Roald Amundsen. Their Air Lubrication System allows ships to glide on a “carpet” of micro-bubbles, muffling noise while slashing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
The effort doesn’t stop there. While LOWNOISER re-engineers ships, projects like SATURN are mapping which frequencies hurt marine life most, and PURE WIND is quieting the hum of offshore turbines. This movement is truly global; through the GloNoise Partnership, nations like India are now adopting specialised toolkits to quiet their ports.
With all these initiatives taking place, we can see how so many people from law to engineering have come forth and made the decision to not just be aware, but to do something about it. Through these, we see the result of empathy, compassion and the desire to live in harmony, especially with all of the animals, whether on sea or land.
