As the oil shortage continues and the environmental regulation of emissions grows more restrictive, hydrogen becomes an attractive energetic vector. There are various possible applications for both merchant vessels and warships. Standard distributed electricity or emergency electrical requirements can be generated by fuel cells systems. Moreover, low propulsion power requirements or the total demand for electricity can also be supplied on ships equipped with electric propulsion by means of fuel cells. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.