The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) is hosting the International Maritime Organization (IMO) GloNoise Partnership Project’s Underwater Radiated Noise (URN) Assessment Toolkit Physical Workshop in Cape Town from 26–27 March 2026, affirming South Africa’s leadership on the African continent in tackling underwater noise pollution from ships.
South Africa was formally designated by the IMO as a Lead Pilot Countries under the GEF‑UNDP‑IMO GloNoise Partnership Project. SAMSA serves as the national focal point, spearheading the country’s technical, regulatory, and scientific contributions to global efforts aimed at reducing underwater noise impacts on marine ecosystems.
The workshop forms part of South Africa’s obligations as a Lead Country and brings participants, including National Task Force members, fishing industry stakeholders, and representatives from several African maritime administrations. Madagascar, South Africa’s twinning partner in the project, along with Tanzania, Mozambique, Namibia, and Angola, are also expected to participate.
The GloNoise Partnership Project is a global initiative aimed at strengthening international, regional, and national capacity to assess and manage underwater radiated noise from ships, which poses a major threat to marine life, including marine mammals, fish species, and other noise‑sensitive organisms. The workshop will focus on practical application of the IMO URN Assessment Toolkit, a key global instrument for evaluating and managing ship‑source acoustic pollution.
As a Lead Pilot Country, South Africa has taken significant steps to demonstrate tangible progress, including:
- Hosting the National URN Awareness Workshop in Cape Town in January 2025.
- Establishing a National Task Force on Underwater Radiated Noise, bringing together government, academia, ports, industry, and civil society.
- Launching national technical committees to drive research, policy, monitoring, and stakeholder engagement.