Evaluation and control of cruise ships noise in urban areas

Most of cruise ports in Europe and in the Mediterranean basin are near historic city centres and the problem of noise due to the activities of navigation and mooring of large vessels can become relevant for noise pollution control in these urban areas. In this work are presented the results of a research, performed by the University of Padova on behalf of Venice Port Authority, about the description and characterization of noise in harbours close to urban areas, by the use of different cognitive tools. The main task of this project was to elaborate a noise control strategy for seasonal noise related to maritime passenger traffic in the city of Venice. For this purpose, different acoustic measuring techniques were used, together with information from the city water traffic control network, in order to classify the sound power emitted by vessels, water buses, private boats, hydrofoils and cruise ships. The contribution of this work to the evaluation of thresholds of noise pollution in port areas can be useful for the definition of buffer zones for noise reduction and control among inland waterways and city harbours.