Call for Proposals: Space for Underwater Radiated Noise Management

Focus areas, objectives, priorities, and themes include quiet ship design, voluntary certification and compliance, quiet ship operation, quiet port initiatives, URN in ESG and digital maritime analytics, URN monitoring, risk mapping of URN impacts, monitoring shipping and URN impact on Marine Protected Areas, construction noise mitigation, and continuous machinery noise. The objective of this call for proposals is to support the development and deployment of innovative services for the monitoring and management of underwater radiated noise (URN). The services are intended to support a wide range of stakeholders, including shipping companies, maritime operators, environmental organisations and other actors committed to ocean health and sustainable maritime practices. The initial areas of interest include quiet maritime environment, environmental services, and subsea activity noise management.

Underwater Radiated Noise (URN) is recognized as a growing environmental pressure in marine ecosystems, spurred mainly by shipping, offshore energy, and coastal activities. Commercial vessels, especially in Europe’s seas, are identified as sources of continuous low-frequency noise, while impulsive noise from construction and seismic surveys further affects marine areas. Global initiatives, such as the IMO revised guidelines and EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive, are now emphasizing URN mitigation, with increasing policy momentum and voluntary certifications shaping ship designs and port operations. URN has yet to achieve mandatory regulation but is gaining traction among industry, governments, and conservation authorities.

Space-based assets and digital technologies present significant opportunities for enhancing URN management. Satellite relayed AIS data provides near-global vessel tracking to model and correlate noise emissions, especially when combined with acoustic and DAS sensors. Earth Observation supports critical environmental characterization, such as bathymetry and chlorophyll levels, while GNSS enables precise vessel positioning and geofencing of protected zones. These assets are vital in improving environmental awareness, enabling compliance monitoring, and strengthening data-driven ESG services.

Proposals under this thematic call must be user-driven and leverage advanced space assets, with customer needs central to the feasibility studies and demonstration projects. Successful applications should incorporate clear business and user hypotheses, active user involvement, and commercial readiness planning. The procurement process involves submission through an Activity Pitch Questionnaire, followed by outline and full proposals, with required support letters and authorization from relevant ESA national delegations. The non-competitive evaluation assesses projects on their own merits, aiming to validate pre-operational services and set the stage for operational rollout.

For more information, visit ESA.