A research program has been organized by the Swedish Ship Research Foundation. One of the objectives of the program has been to develop a noise prediction method. In its first form this prediction method is of empirical type, based on extensive noise level and vibration measurements in three reference ships. It has the form of a computer program. Depending on ship type, somewhat different propagation models can be chosen. The vibration measurements in the reference ships reveal some of the fundamental difficulties in getting an accurate calculation method. The different stops in the calculation also have rather different accuracy. The radiation of sound from the linings can be accurately predicted; however, predicting the structure-borne transmission in the steel hull and from the steel construction to the linings involve greater uncertainties. One of the reasons for this is the unexpectedly high level of inplane waves in the steel structure (longitudinal and transverse waves). [Compare to T. Kihlman and J. Plunt, “Structure-borne sound in ships: Study of different waveforms,” ICA 8 (1974).]