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Noise
Activity at the port can result in noise that is perceived as annoying to residents and others in the vicinity. On this page you will find information about regulations, noise in the port and contact information.
The Port of Kristiansand shall be a good neighbor to its surroundings and strives to reduce annoying noise. This means that we must have a good dialog with both neighbors and stakeholders at the port.
One of our most important measures is to connect vessels to shore power. That's why we always try to offer this to ships that come to our quays, especially on the busiest ones. We can't require ships to connect to shore power, and not all vessels can receive shore power, but we go to great lengths to ensure that it is both possible and attractive.
Feedback is important for us to improve. Send us an inquiry if you experience annoying noise.
Regulatory framework
Regulations in Norway - EU guideline T-1442
T-1442 specifies noise limits for ports:
- Lden shall be calculated as the annual average value
- Lnight shall be calculated as the annual average value
- The "worst day" can be considered a day of intense operation, the noise limit is then 3 dB higher than for the annual average day
Noise zone maps for the worst day are shown for information; zoning regulations only set requirements for annual average noise levels for Lden and Lnight.
Noise from arrival/departure
- Guidance M-128 states that a port is delimited outwards in the sea by the area where port activities take place
- The Port and Fairway Act does not specify a noise limit for fairways
Unless otherwise specified, the Pollution Act applies.
Contact information
If you have any questions, wish to make a complaint or have other inquiries, please send an email to post@kristiansand-havn.no.
Here we will respond to your inquiry on an ongoing basis.
Noise measurements Kongsgård
At Kongsgård in Kristiansand, we have chosen to have continuous noise measurements to ensure we have a good picture of noise in the surrounding area.
We have been measuring noise for several years already. At the bottom of this page you will find noise zone maps from measurements over the past year. A noise zone map shows how noise is distributed in the environment at different levels. The map uses colors to illustrate noise levels.
The noise zone maps for Kongsgård show the noise contribution from the port to the surroundings at a height of 4 m above local terrain, and have been prepared by Multiconsult. The maps are based on information about how long different ships are docked, the ship's sound effect (source strength in terms of noise) and information about which ships have been connected to shore power.
The Port of Kristiansand continuously logs noise on a building in the port area. Data from this logging is analyzed by Multiconsult, so that the correct values for noise contributions from different ships and the correct attenuation effect of shore power connection are used with certainty when the noise contribution from the port is to be made visible in noise zone maps. Part of Multiconsult's analysis work also consists of assessing the contribution from other background noise, which is not part of the actual port noise.
The port noise is assessed against the lower limit for the yellow zone, which is the noise limit that applies in the T-1442 guideline and thus throughout the EU, and which is laid down in the zoning regulations for the northern port area. With current operations in the port, it is assumed that the quarterly average noise level represents the annual average situation. The following noise limits are shown in the various maps:
- Annual average Lden against limit value 55 dBA
- Annual average Lnight against limit value 45 dBA
- Daily average Lden (for the worst day in the period) against limit value 58 dBA
- Daily average Lnight (for the worst day in the period) against limit value 48 dBA
An annual average noise level applies to the average of all days of the year for an operation where there are no ships in port at all times, and will be lower than the daily average noise level for an intense 24-hour period. For this reason, different noise limits have been used for annual average and daily average situations, in line with guidance M-128 from 2016.
Since the noise sources in the port area are not considered to be impulsive, and since impulses at long distances between the port and homes are not prominent, a stricter noise limit has not been applied.
The noise limits apply to singular values in dBA, and there are no specific limit values for frequency spectrum or bass sound content in the regulations. The logging that has been carried out so far shows that there is a very good margin to the applicable noise limits.
With current operations, there is also a margin to the annual average Lnight 40 dBA (the daily average Lnight 43 dBA), a sound level that the WHO says with certainty does not cause negative health effects. Ref. the "Night noise guidelines for Europe" published in 2009 by WHO.
Lden
Lden is a parameter for calculating noise that is coordinated with EU regulations. It expresses the steady average noise level from the port where the noise in the evening (19-23) is penalized by 5 dB and the noise at night (23-07) is penalized by 10 dB.
In practice, this means that if the port provides a uniform noise level of, for example, 50 dBA to the surroundings throughout the day, this will be used to calculate a daily weighted noise level (weighted by the length of the different 24-hour periods: 12 hours day, 4 hours evening and 8 hours night) with 50 dBA during the day, 55 dBA in the evening and 60 dBA at night. This example will give Lden 56 dBA for the entire day. Lden thus expresses what one would say is an "even average noise" but which is weighted differently for different periods of the day.
Below you will find noise zone maps:
