EN
The paper concerns a propulsion system of merchant ships intended for sailing in the Baltic Sea zone. Suchsystem is to satisfy the ecological requirements determined by relevant international conventions for specialzones to which the Baltic Sea also belongs. The paper draws attention to gas turbine used as a prime moverfor such ships, because it satisfies the ecological requirements and has also other advantages. Application of gas turbine for ship powering does not require exhaust gas to be purified, however it requires fuel oils of a low sulphur content to be used. If the ecological rules impose the using of the fuel oils of similar quality for diesel engines then gas turbine propulsion system will be comparable − also economically (regardingspecific fuel oil consumption cost) − with that of diesel engine. It would be even more favourable ina combine gas turbine /steam turbine system, especially at compound production of electric and heat energy(i.e. COGES systems). In the Baltic Sea zone gas turbines will find application to powering a. o. such shipsas : fast car-passenger ferries, fast cargo ships, special vehicles (hydrofoils, hovercraft, motor yachts)