Last Tuesday Careys Bay resident Dinah Cameron finally had enough of the noise coming from a generator on the Rio class container ship berthed at the port.
A southwesterly wind meant the noise was being blown directly into the small harbour settlement.
A low thumping noise from the container ships which have been berthing at the port since late last year has led to a stream of noise complaints from harbour residents from Harington Point to Ravensbourne.
The Dunedin City Council was the first place Ms Cameron called to make a complaint.
After registering the complaint the council transferred Ms Cameron to a staff member at Port Otago who acknowledged her complaint but said Maritime New Zealand was ultimately responsible for the issue.
After calling Maritime NZ, she was told to call the Otago Regional Council, which owns the port.
Finally, Ms Cameron was told by the regional council she needed to contact the Dunedin City Council, if she had an issue with the noise.
"I'm a reasonably competent person but truly this was beyond a joke.
"I can't imagine what it would be like for anybody not assertive or not able to navigate their way through. It's pretty bad really," Ms Cameron said.
It was the first complaint Ms Cameron had made, as she was increasingly concerned the situation was not being taken seriously.
Port Otago chief executive Kevin Winders said all noise complaints were taken seriously and reported to the port's noise and environment committee.
Mr Winders said the port took responsibility for the recent noise issue and encouraged anyone who was affected by the noise to contact the company.
He was not aware of staff referring people to Maritime NZ.
"This is an issue for the port and also, to some extent, the Dunedin City Council, through its second generation plan, so people are welcome to call the council if they have a complaint, but ultimately its something we're taking responsibility for."
From December to June, the council received 62 complaints about noise coming from the ships, 24 in March alone.
The port has already implemented several measures to reduce the impact of the noise, including docking the ships at the new multi-purpose berth and changing their arrival time so they only stayed one night instead of two.
A project team - formed to find a solution to the noise issue - was also investigating the possibility of trialling a giant silencer on the generators, but it could be up to four months away.
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Let's face it people, so long as money is being made nobody who is making it cares much what effects their actions have on others. See also the fishing industry, dairy farms, bottled water, e bikes, the housing boom etc. Much of what was once precious has already been sacrificed to the making of a buck, this noise pollution is just the latest example.