On the Prospects for the Development of Marine Propulsion Systems for Their Compliance with the Environmental Standards of the International Convention

Introduction. The shipping industry pays great attention to the safety of man-made and natural systems. At the same time, increased requirements are imposed not only on the quality of the fuel composition, but also on exhaust emissions. Currently, Annex VI of the MARPOL-73/78 Convention has been ratified by many of its signatories. The compliance with this document requires that engine emissions comply with the specified NOx level limits. Until recently, such rules were mainly applied in the Baltic and North Seas, but over time, the compliance with environmental standards will affect other areas of navigation.The work objective is to show through the study of modern technical solutions that we need an integrated approach to solve practical environmental problems, which will allow developing rational schemes of modern marine propulsion systems, taking into account their compliance with the safety requirements of technogenic and natural systems.Materials and Methods. The methods and recommendations given in open sources and corresponding to the requirements of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) were used in the work. The experience of leading foreign firms and domestic enterprises in terms of modern design solutions that will reduce ship emissions to acceptable limits is analyzed and summarized.Research Results. The issues related to the study of factors influencing the development of rational schemes of ship propulsion systems, taking into account their current level of development, pricing policy and the compliance with the environmental requirements, are considered. It is shown that one of the effective ways to reduce NOx emissions is the installation of a selective catalytic reducer (SCR) on the main engine, and the use of efficient and innovative power generation technologies to reduce technogenic emissions. In the medium term, the transition to gaseous fuels is predicted, and in the long term – to hydrogen technologies.Discussion and Conclusion. Possible technical solutions to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by installing selective catalytic reducers on the main marine engines are presented. It is established that one of the promising areas of development are diesel-electric propulsion systems. It is shown that in the medium term, due to stricter environmental requirements, there will be a transition to gaseous fuels, which will allow us with minor structural changes to increase the power of the existing main engines and to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and greenhouse gases. In the long term, the transition to hydrogen fuel cells with continuous improvement of the technological level of production, storage and development of the corresponding infrastructure can be considered as a real alternative to hydrocarbon fuels in marine transport.