So You Want a Quiet Ship?

There are steps anyone can take and there are mis-steps often taken in obtaining a quiet ship. This paper addressed this divide and provides some guidance in 1) navigating the way to a ship that meets the latest IMO habitability noise standard and 2) starting to address minimizing underwater radiated noise, following IMO's lead in this area. In most cases, the complexity or number of steps needed varies with the stringency of acoustic requirements and sophistication of the vessel. The step cover from applying simple design guidance to application of the latest computer aided design approaches. Other non-technical steps often prove to be as, if not more important, as the level of treatment increases. A quiet ship is achievable and when the steps are done properly, can have reduced impact on the ship's cost, weight and/or space.