Shipbuilding and new requirements to reduce the environmental impact of ships: New technological challenges and business opportunities

New and increasingly demanding requirements of reducing the environmental impact of all types ofships from all countries, along with regulatory institutions like the new "Green Policy" of the EuropeanUnion, leads to the development of a series of regulations/directives, which will immediately affect boththe owner and the builders worldwide. This requires introducing modifications in the vessel design tofulfill these requirements and, ultimately, improve their exploitation while avoiding penalties and/orrestrictions. Awareness of these requirements by some Spanish owners has allowed Spanish shipbuildingto be positioned strategically at the forefront of technology to fulfill these requirements. This work, aftera review of those Directives affecting ship design, focuses on the presentation of the results obtained intwo Ro-Ro Vessels. These vessels, given their design and performances, are a "technological reference"in the new scenario of high environmental performance requirements: Noise and vibrations on board,noise radiated to the harbor, and noise radiated to the water.