Ferry Route Research Articles

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The issues of implementation of long-term goals of sustainable development of sea passenger transportation, achievement of transportation results, overcoming the negative impact of factors of unstable external environment, which are determined by the chosen course laid down in the basis of strategic management of ferry transportation and choice of route directions, are investigated in the paper. The study indicates that despite the negative impact of COVID-19 and the resulting delayed passenger demand for cruise services, the potential of the maritime ferry and cruise market is very high. It is noted that since 2021 there is a gradual process of recovery of route networks, which takes place in different regions with different dynamics. Therefore, the goals of ferry companies are to implement several strategic planning tasks, among which the task of designing the most efficient new route network is relevant, while companies can start to implement route networks and destinations based on the existing route networks (e. g. networks and destinations of the Baltic Sea) for 2019. It is emphasized that due to the new possibility to attract additional passenger traffic, detailed research and modelling of different options is needed. The Baltic Sea region is chosen as the object for the study, since the local mobility of passageways makes it possible to renew the routes in the shortest possible time. The data for different seas, characterizing the intervals of decline and justifying the necessity of innovations on the basis of new competitive routes creation, are presented in the study. The subject of the study is routes and route networks of the seas regions. The use of models in the form of graphs and algorithms, such as Dijkstra’s algorithm, is proposed for modelling different variants of sea ferry routes architecture. The new ferry route network model is implemented in the J-Circos software environment for the subsequent construction of various intensity diagram options. Due to the flexibility of the interfaces and the software environment it is possible to combine the existing networks in 2019 and the proposed new routes in a single information field. In this way, a new possibility to assess the position of a ferry company on the passenger market and to evaluate the quantitative indicators in relation to the other ferry and cruise companies is considered in the paper. The proposed solutions are included in a separate decision-making flowchart for selecting a promotion strategy in the sea region ferry market. The solutions presented have versatility, the methodology and implementation can also be applied to the other sea regions. A new possibility of representing evolutionary changes in the route networks, which also provides an opportunity to further improve the quality of strategic planning and promotion decision-making, forming a separate area of analytical work of a maritime ferry company, is considered.

City Scale Modeling of Ultrafine Particles in Urban Areas with Special Focus on Passenger Ferryboat Emission Impact.

Air pollution by aerosol particles is mainly monitored as mass concentrations of particulate matter, such as PM10 and PM2.5. However, mass-based measurements are hardly representative for ultrafine particles (UFP), which can only be monitored adequately by particle number (PN) concentrations and are considered particularly harmful to human health. This study examines the dispersion of UFP in Hamburg city center and, in particular, the impact of passenger ferryboats by modeling PN concentrations and compares concentrations to measured values. To this end, emissions inventories and emission size spectra for different emission sectors influencing concentrations in the city center were created, explicitly considering passenger ferryboat traffic as an additional emission source. The city-scale chemical transport model EPISODE-CityChem is applied for the first time to simulate PN concentrations and additionally, observations of total particle number counts are taken at four different sampling sites in the city. Modeled UFP concentrations are in the range of 1.5–3 × 104 cm−3 at ferryboat piers and at the road traffic locations with particle sizes predominantly below 50 nm. Urban background concentrations are at 0.4–1.2 × 104 cm−3 with a predominant particle size in the range 50–100 nm. Ferryboat traffic is a significant source of emissions near the shore along the regular ferry routes. Modeled concentrations show slight differences to measured data, but the model is capable of reproducing the observed spatial variation of UFP concentrations. UFP show strong variations in both space and time, with day-to-day variations mainly controlled by differences in air temperature, wind speed and wind direction. Further model simulations should focus on longer periods of time to better understand the influence of meteorological conditions on UFP dynamics.

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Historical aspects of construction and operation of train ferry routes

Sustainable development of the transport industry can be provided through the introduction of combined transport systems. And one of the most promising ones is the train ferry transport system which combines railway and marine transport facilities. The article deals with the analysis and systematization of the data on the historical development of train ferry routes and describes the background for the construction of train ferry routes and their advantages over other combined transport types. It also deals with the basic features of the train ferries operating on the main international train ferry routes. The study is concerned with both sea routes and routes across rivers and lakes. The article shows the role of train ferry routes in the improvement of a national economy, and in the provision of the military defense, as it was described by Vinogradov at the example of Saratovskaya Pereprava (route) and by Karakashly and Shklyaruk at the example of the lighter Ishimbay which was loaded from the side. The authors have analyzed the development of the train ferry routes serviced by the ice-breaking train ferries Baikal across Lake Baikal, and the ferries Sakhalin linked mainland Russia and Sakhalin Island. The article deals with the peculiarities of transportation by trains ferries in the USA, Japan, Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Germany, Lithuania, and some other countries, and presents the analysis of the operational features of Ukrainian train ferries which connect Ukraine with Bulgaria, Georgia, and Turkey. Besides, the article describes some peculiarities of the loading and transportation of passenger trains by train ferries. The study deals with structural peculiarities, and processing technology used for modern train ferries operating across the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Baltic Sea. The research is based on the analysis of works by Egorov (the Marine Engineering Bureau, Ukraine). The research emphasizes the importance of train ferry transportation for the sustainable development of national economies including the economy of Ukraine.

Editorial: Before-After Control-Impact (BACI) Studies in the Ocean

BACI is not a perfect methodology, as site choice and sampling rate need to be determined strategically (Smokorowki and Randall, 2017), but baseline studies before expected large-scale impacts lend themselves to the “before” or “control” portions of BACI experiments. [...]learning how to best implement BACI methodologies from other ecological fields and applying them to the ocean could provide a common language for understanding human impacts. The articles show that sound was significantly reduced during the early months of the pandemic (1) at a cold-water coral reef under a passenger ferry route between Norway and Sweden (De Clippele and Risch), (2) in a high-traffic area for cruise ships in Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska (Gabriele et al.), (3) in a sperm whale habitat in the Bahamas (Dunn et al.), (4) at two sites in the Baltic Sea (Basan et al.), (5) in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (Ryan et al.), and (6) in the Halifax Harbor of Nova Scotia (Breeze et al.). Fernandez-Betelu et al. found that far-field impulsive sounds from pile driving do not force coastal bottlenose dolphins to vacate their habitat, but do affect their behavior, whereas Benhemma-Le Gall et al. determined that harbor porpoises were displaced during pile-driving activities and from associated construction vessel activity for offshore wind farms. [...]Stack et al. used a “before-after” scale of hours in a tropical environment in Australia, to show potentially detrimental behavioral changes in humpback whales due to ecotourism activities.

A combined dial-a-ride and fixed schedule ferry service for coastal cities

As large cities continue growing, the pressure on public transportation system increases. Water transit infrastructure has gained increased interest for coastal cities in the last years as it presents great potential for reducing congestion on urban road networks. Furthermore, the evolution of autonomous ferry systems enables more frequent departures, shorter detours, and on-demand services with many smaller ferry units operating without captain and crew on board. While most of current ferry passenger transportation systems operate on fixed scheduled routes non-autonomously, in the last decades, there has been an increased interest in on-demand public transit services as these provide more flexibility and customized services. This paper investigates the potentials of combining fixed schedule and on-demand ferry services. For this, we present a request assignment procedure and a ferry routing methodology that are embedded in a simulation framework. Through this, we examine the impact of fleet composition (i.e., number of scheduled and on-demand ferries) on the fulfilled customer demand and the service times of requests. Our computational experiments evaluate the relation between fleet size and fleet composition under various demand scenarios for a case study of the coastal city Kiel, Germany.

Potential Benefits Of Electricaly Driven Ferry, Case Study

There have been several news articles in the newspapers lately about the introduction of electrically powered ferry boats in Croatia, especially on several shorter routes. This introduction will require serious investigation into potential benefits and also into potential drawbacks to determine if a solution is viable or not. One of those shorter ferry routes in Croatia is a route from peninsula Pelješac to the island of Korčula. The route at the moment is operated by one ferry, driven by four independent propellers, each driven by one diesel engine. This paper is addressing one small aspect of problems, assessing potential benefits of the conversion of a ferry (or replacement with electrically driven ferry) on the mentioned route to electrical power and the impact on the local area due to the reduction of all exhaust gas emissions.

Ferries and Environmental DNA: Underway Sampling From Commercial Vessels Provides New Opportunities for Systematic Genetic Surveys of Marine Biodiversity

Marine environmental DNA (eDNA) is an important tool for biodiversity research and monitoring but challenges remain in scaling surveys over large spatial areas, and increasing the frequency of sampling in remote locations at reasonable cost. Here we demonstrate the feasibility of sampling from commercial vessels (Mediterranean ferries) while underway, as a strategy to facilitate replicable, systematic marine eDNA surveys in locations that would normally be challenging and expensive for researchers to access. Sixteen eDNA samples were collected from four fixed sampling stations, and in response to four cetacean sightings, across three cruises undertaken along the 300 km ferry route between Livorno (Tuscany) and Golfo Aranci (Sardinia) in the Ligurian/Tyrrhenian Seas, June-July 2018. Using 12SrDNA and 16SrDNA metabarcoding markers, we recovered diverse marine vertebrate Molecular Operational Taxonomic Units (MOTUs) from teleost fish, elasmobranchs, and cetaceans. We detected sample heterogeneity consistent with previously known variation in species occurrences, including putative species spawning peaks associated with specific sea surface temperature ranges, and increased night time abundance of bathypelagic species known to undertake diel migrations through the water column. We suggest commercial vessel based marine eDNA sampling using the global shipping network has potential to facilitate broad-scale biodiversity monitoring in the world’s oceans.

The Efficacy of Management Measures to Reduce Vessel Noise in Critical Habitat of Southern Resident Killer Whales in the Salish Sea

The inland waters around southern Vancouver Island and northern Washington State, known as the Salish Sea, host critical habitat for endangered southern resident killer whales (SRKW). This is, however, a highly traversed area, with approaches to industrial ports and coastal cities, international shipping lanes, ferry routes, and considerable recreational vessel traffic. Vessel noise is a key threat to SRKW prosperity, and so conservation measures directed to mitigate its effects have been explored annually since 2017. Here, we describe trials undertaken in 2020, which included spatially limited slowdown zones, exclusion areas as Interim whale Sanctuary Zones (ISZs), and a lateral displacement of tug transits to increase the distance between their route and SRKW foraging areas. To assess each of the measures we first considered the level of mariner participation using data from the Automated Identification Systems (AIS), mandatory for commercial vessels. Knowing this, the changes in soundscape were examined, focused on impacts on broadband (10 Hz to 100 kHz) ambient noise and the frequencies used by SRKW for communication (500 Hz to 15 kHz) and echolocation (15 to 100 kHz). A control period of two-months prior to trial initiation was used to quantify the changes. High levels (> 80%) of compliance were found for each measure, except ISZs, where observance was low. Median reduction in speeds ranged from 0.2–3.5 knots. Resulting sound reductions were most notable in the lower frequencies, although reductions were also recorded in SRKW pertinent ranges. Tug displacement also reduced ambient noise in these frequencies, despite making up a small portion of the overall traffic. The management trials were effective in reducing potential impacts singularly and in concert. Greater awareness and stakeholder engagement may increase compliance and, therefore, the efficacy of measures in the future.

On Using Lagrangian Drift Simulations to Aid Interpretation of in situ Monitoring Data

One key challenge of marine monitoring programs is to reasonably combine information from different in situ observations spread in space and time. In that context, we suggest the use of Lagrangian transport simulations extending both forward and backward in time to identify the movements of water bodies from the time they were observed to the time of their synopsis. We present examples of how synoptic maps of salinity generated by this method support the identification and tracing of river plumes in coastal regions. We also demonstrate how we can use synoptic maps to delineate different water masses in coastal margins. These examples involve quasi-continuous observations of salinity taken along ferry routes. A third application is the synchronization of measurements between fixed stations and nearby moving platforms. Both observational platforms often see the same water body, but at different times. We demonstrate how the measurements from a fixed platform can be synchronized to measurements from a moving platform by taking into account simulation-based time shifts.

Techno-Economic Assessment of Offshore Wind Energy in the Philippines

The technical and economic assessments for emerging renewable energy technologies, specifically offshore wind energy, is critical for their improvement and deployment. These assessments serve as one of the main bases for the construction of offshore wind farms, which would be beneficial to the countries gearing toward a sustainable future such as the Philippines. This study presents the technical and economic viability of offshore wind farms in the Philippines. The analysis was divided into four phases, namely, application of exclusion criteria, technical analysis, economic assessment, and sensitivity analysis. Arc GIS 10.5 was used to spatially visualize the results of the study. Exclusion criteria were applied to narrow down the potential siting for offshore wind farms, namely, active submerged cables, local ferry routes, marine protected areas, reefs, oil and gas extraction areas, bathymetry, distance to grid, typhoons, and earthquakes. In the technical analysis, the turbines SWT-3.6-120 and 6.2 M126 Senvion were considered. The offshore wind speed data were extrapolated from 80 m to 90 m and 95 m using power law. The wind power density, wind power, and annual energy production were calculated from the extrapolated wind speed. Areas in the Philippines with a capacity factor greater than 30% and performance greater than 10% were considered technically viable. The economic assessment considered the historical data of constructed offshore wind farms from 2008 to 2018. Multiple linear regression was done to model the cost associated with the construction of offshore wind farms, namely, turbine, foundation, electrical, and operation and maintenance costs (i.e., investment cost). Finally, the levelized cost of electricity and break-even selling price were calculated to check the economic viability of the offshore wind farms. Sensitivity analysis was done to investigate how LCOE and price of electricity are sensitive to the discount rate, capacity factor, investment cost, useful life, mean wind speed, and shape parameter. Upon application of exclusion criteria, several sites were determined to be viable with the North of Cagayan having the highest capacity factor. The calculated capacity factor ranges from ~42% to ~50% for SWT-3.6-120 and ~38.56% to ~48% for 6.2M126 turbines. The final regression model with investment cost as the dependent variable included the minimum sea depth and the plant capacity as the predictor variables. The regression model had an adjusted R2 of 90.43%. The regression model was validated with existing offshore wind farms with a mean absolute percentage error of 11.33%. The LCOE calculated for a 25.0372 km2 offshore area ranges from USD 157.66/MWh and USD 154.1/MWh. The breakeven electricity price for an offshore wind farm in the Philippines ranges from PHP 8.028/kWh to PHP 8.306/kWh.

Predicting summer fin whale distribution in the Pelagos Sanctuary (north‐western Mediterranean Sea) to identify dynamic whale–vessel collision risk areas

Abstract Mediterranean fin whales aggregating in the Pelagos Sanctuary in summer to feed are exposed to vessel collision risk, particularly from high‐speed ferries. This study developed models to predict summer fin whale distribution using a generalized additive model (GAM) and MaxEnt, with the aim of providing a tool to identify potential high whale–ferry collision risk areas along ferry routes within the Pelagos Sanctuary during summertime. Models were trained using sightings data collected in the summer months of 2009–2018 on board ferries crossing the central area of the Pelagos Sanctuary. Environmental predictors were bathymetry and mean sea surface chlorophyll concentration of the annual spring bloom period. The predictive ability of GAM and MaxEnt was assessed using existing knowledge of summer fin whale distribution in the region. GAM (deviance explained = 20.2%) predictions matched documented distributions more closely than that of MaxEnt, with highest predicted fin whale occurrence in deep offshore waters (>2000 m) encompassing the central north‐western and western regions, and in the south‐eastern region, consistent with known fin whale habitats within the Pelagos Sanctuary. Inter‐annual variability was evident, influencing collision risk areas. Collision risk was estimated as a function of the overlap between the predicted probability of fin whale occurrence and ferry density estimated from Automated Identification System data. Ferry routes that cross the northern and eastern regions of the Pelagos Sanctuary presented relatively higher collision risk. Areas with changes in risk intensity between the years were temporally and spatially dynamic: some appeared intermittently throughout the study period while others persisted over consecutive years or recurred in different years. Due to the vastness of the Pelagos Sanctuary, vessel speed reduction maybe a more practical measure to manage collision risk than re‐routing shipping lanes. A combination of Seasonal Management Areas and Dynamic Management Areas approaches could be adopted for high‐risk areas.

Comparison of External Costs of Diesel, LNG, and Electric Drive on a Ro-Ro Ferry Route

Following the sustainable transport policy, environmental criteria are becoming a competitive factor within the maritime shipping industry. The use of greener fuels in internal combustion engines, including electric drive, is a measure that can reduce external costs of transport. Alternative fuels in maritime transport, benefits, and potential attainable savings have been examined on the Kamenari–Lepatane ro-ro ferry route in the Bay of Kotor located in Montenegro. The results indicate higher total fuel cost savings by switching to LNG compared with electric power. However, the external costs of the latter are considerably lower, especially using renewable energy sources rather than fossil ones in the production process. The results obtained, relative to the magnitude and assumed complete internalization of external costs, justify the incentive to use the renewable sources as energy providers on the examined ro-ro ferry route. Environmental criteria should play a decisive role in assessing the overall benefit value, under the current trends and regulations of emissions reduction in maritime transport.

Scanning ferry routes: looking for eDNA traces of marine mammals and their preys

Marine environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys are becoming a promising approach to monitor biodiversity status and its variation over time. However, monitoring offshore areas could be extremely costly when using dedicated vessels, beside the impossibility to sample simultaneously geographically distant (even if adjacent) areas. The unexplored possibility of availing on operating ferries as an opportunistic platform for eDNA sampling offers several advantages besides opening limitless opportunities for systematic surveys on marine biodiversity.We present the results of both metabarcoding and barcoding approaches obtained from the analysis of water samples collected on board of a ferry boat along a pilot Mediterranean route crossing the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals. The recently described MarVer primer sets (12SrDNA and 16SrDNA regions), specifically designed for the simultaneous detection of marine mammals and other marine vertebrates, were employed. The High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) outcome showed that the markers successfully detected most trophic levels of vertebrate marine communities, and classes, including bony fish, rays, cetaceans and birds. Ferry-based sampling allow to collect sample at any time of the day, and we indeed found diel differences in both quantitative and qualitative distribution of read counts. For instances, we observed an increased abundance of lantern fish amplicons in night-time collect samples (50%), reflecting nocturnal migration through the water column. In general, the number of read counts was significantly higher in nocturnal samples. Such diel differences within our sample indirectly provides evidence of the efficiency of the eDNA approach to detect contemporary signals in the sampled environment. Similarly, cetaceans were detected in correspondence of visual sightings (when these occurred, supplementary samples were collected). Rare species, such as the monk seal, are difficult to be detected in metabarcoding surveys, thus we opted to side the screening of the ferry-samples with a panel of species-specific qPCR assays, which were able to detect DNA traces of the endangered pinniped in the Tuscany archipelago (Tyrrhenian Sea) long before visual observations witnessed its presence in the same area. The study demonstrates the feasibility of using commercial shipping as a platform for eDNA marine sampling without dedicated survey cruises. Commercial shipping routes have potential to act as regular systematic sampling transects which can contribute to evaluating and monitoring marine biodiversity.

Addressing walkability of Kochi corporation area with a focus on inland water transportation

Kochi Corporation area is one of the most densely populated corporations in Kerala. The haphazard growth results in least importance on pedestrians. Walking is a healthy culture, which is inevitable in our daily lives. When we consider other modes of transportation, waterborne transportation has the least negative impacts. Here, nearly fifty percent of Kochi corporation area is surrounded by water and has the potential to develop ferry routes. Through the ferry routes we can access the major nodes of the city. However, due to lack of walking infrastructure and proper connectivity, there is a decline in the walking culture. Identifying the scope of walkability in Kochi Corporation area helps to develop a walkable city, which can be an efficient contributor to sustainability. When we blend walking and ferry routes in an urban core, it gives in a ray of hope for sustainability. This paper looks into interlinking the potentials of urban ferry stations and walkability of Kochi Corporation area; thereby aiming to improve the connectivity and built environment of streets near ferry stations. This also looks into providing a safe and healthy built environment of Kochi Corporation area thereby playing a major role in balancing sustainability.

Towards Least-CO2 Ferry Routes in the Adriatic Sea

Carbon intensity of ship emissions is a cornerstone of contemporary regulatory actions, with measurable targets of reduction being enforced in the coming decade. Short term measures to achieve them include voyage optimization. Therefore, the VISIR ship routing model was upgraded for computing least-CO2 routes depending on ocean analysis products related to waves and sea currents. The speed loss in waves and the CO2 emission rate of a medium size Ro-Pax ship were obtained from a coupled command-bridge engine-room simulator. The geographical and topological features of least-CO2 routes resulting from VISIR were characterised by means of various types of isolines. A case study in the Adriatic Sea leads to bundles of optimal routes with significant spatial diversions even on short-sea routes. The carbon intensity savings were compared to the CO2 savings, highlighting also their dependence on both route lengthening and fractional engine load. For a case study in winter, carbon intensity reductions up to 11% were computed with respect to least-distance routes between the same couple of ports of call. This is promising, as a reduction of this magnitude represents a significant amount of the carbon intensity curbing target required at International level.

Территориальная структура паромного сообщения в акватории Балтийского моря

Ferry services are transport systems whose regular routes link areas separated by water bodies. Sometimes ferries are the only connection between an island and the mainland. In the Baltic Sea, such transport situations are not rare. A typical example is the island of Saaremaa. Ferries are the backbone of cargo and passenger traffic in the Baltic Sea region. This article aims to describe the spatial structure of ferry services in the Baltic Sea. To this end, a statistical database on 101 ferry routes is created and passenger and car traffic on each is calculated using an original methodology, which can be applied in analysing the spatial structure and traffic of ferry services in other regions. Baltic ferries account for over half of all European ferry-borne car and passenger traffic. The Baltic stands out for its unusually long ferry routes, which sustain timber exports. Most cargoes in the region originate from Sweden.

Message Ferry Route Calculation through K-means Clustering Algorithm for Partially-Connected MANET

Partially-connected MANETs are the Wi-Fi networks where most of the time a comprehensive path between source and destination does not exist due to narrow radio transmission range of the nodes, low density of nodes, wide deployment area, physical obstacles like high rise buildings, severe weather conditions, or other physical factors. The traditional routing protocols of the Mobile Ad-hoc Network presume that the network is connected. There are two possible solutions to solve the connectivity problem in sparse MANET. The first solution makes use of random movement of nodes to transfer messages whereas in the second, one node is given special privileges to roam in the deployment area to distribute messages in segmented areas, which is also called the Message Ferry (MF) approach for transmitting data. Message ferries keep moving in the deployment area and take the charge of storing, carrying and forwarding data of the regular nodes. In the present paper, the ferry-initiated approach has been adopted with 2 ferry nodes, which are allowed to move in such a way that they cover the maximum area of the grid. It is proposed that the ferry nodes will design their routes dynamically on the basis of current topology of MANET and in one round trip it will pass through the centers of the partitioned clusters formed by the regular nodes. The process of calculating cluster center is repeated in further trips. K-means clustering algorithm is applied to calculate the cluster centers of the partitioned clusters. The results indicate positive performances of the proposed model in various simulation experiments conducted.

Toward Sustainable Ferry Routes in Korea: Analysis of Operational Efficiency Considering Passenger Mobility Burdens

With its long coastline, and numerous inlets and offshore islands, coastal ferry industries play a vital role in Korean maritime transportation. This study focuses on the southwestern part of Korea, Mokpo (which has the most inhabited islands and the highest proportion of elderly island residents), and aims to evaluate the impact of passengers’ mobility burdens on the efficiency of ferry routes to achieve a better service for passengers. Integrated principal component analysis–data envelopment analysis and a fuzzy C-means clustering method were applied to analyze the efficiency of ferry routes in the Mokpo area. The efficiency results indicate that longer routes do not always achieve high-efficiency scores. The proportion of general passengers appears to influence the efficiency improvements of both general and subsidiary ferry routes. These findings can assist in better comprehending the relationship between passengers’ mobility burdens and ferry route efficiencies; this will enable the authorities and ferry management departments to develop appropriate policies and strategies and to reconstruct certain features of the inefficient routes, thereby increasing operational efficiency, reducing mobility burdens, and improving the convenience of ferry travel and sustainability of Korean passenger routes.

Design Analysis of Hybrid Gas Turbine‒Fuel Cell Power Plant in Stationary and Marine Applications

Abstract The paper concerns the design analysis of a hybrid gas turbine power plant with a fuel cell (stack). The aim of this work was to find the most favourable variant of the medium capacity (approximately 10 MW) hybrid system. In the article, computational analysis of two variants of such a system was carried out. The analysis made it possible to calculate the capacity, efficiency of both variants and other parameters like the flue gas temperature. The paper shows that such hybrid cycles can theoretically achieve extremely high efficiency over 60%. The most favourable one was selected for further detailed thermodynamic and flow calculations. As part of this calculation, a multi-stage axial compressor, axial turbine, fuel cell (stack) and regenerative heat exchanger were designed. Then an analysis of the profitability of the installation was carried out, which showed that the current state of development of this technology and its cost make the project unprofitable. For several years, however, tendencies of decreasing prices of fuel cells have been observed, which allows the conclusion that hybrid systems will start to be created. This may apply to both stationary and marine applications. Hybrid solutions related to electrical power transmission, including fuel cells, are real and very promising for smaller car ferries and shorter ferry routes.