Abstract

Normally, maritime, air and surface transport assets powered by internal combustion engines are the major sources of chemical, biological and physical pollution of the environment. In the meantime, oil shortage and world oil prices are rising every year, which raises questions on the use of alternative energy sources that are not fossil fuels.
At the present time, natural gas as one of the types of fuel is widely and successfully used in surface transport owing to the availability of their sufficient reserves and good thermophysical characteristics. The article deals with the prospects for natural gas production in the sea and the possibilities of utilizing its energy source in small-capacity marine and river transport equipment in both diesel-cycle and directly converted to natural gas-powered diesel engines.