Marine Electrical Power Systems:
Shipboard Power System Fundamentals:
Shipboard Power System Characteristics

Last Update: December 20, 2025

Essential Questions

Essential Question	Level of Thinking
What is electrical power used for onboard ship?	Understand
What are the implications of a need for high power reliability / Quality of Service?	Understand
What are the implications of a need for survivable power systems?	Understand
What are the implications of the marine environment?	Understand

Doerry, CAPT Norbert, "Designing Electrical Power Systems for Survivability and Quality of Service" presented at ASNE DAY 2007, Arlington, VA, June 25-26, 2007.
Also published in ASNE Naval Engineers Journal, 2007, Vol. 119 No 2, pp 25-34.

Doerry, Norbert, "Naval Power Systems," IEEE Electrification, Volume 3 Number 2, June 2015, pp. 12-21.

IEEE Std 45.1 IEEE Recommended Practice for Electrical Installations on Shipboard--Design

IEEE Std 45.3 IEEE Recommended Practice for Electrical Installations on Shipboard--Systems Engineering

MIL-DTL-901 Shock Tests, H.I. (High-Impact) Shipboard Machinery, Equipment, and Systems, Requirements for

MIL-DTL-917 Electric Power Equipment, Basic Requirements for

MIL-STD-167-1 Mechanical Vibrations of Shipboard Equipment (Type I – Environmental and Type II – Internally Excited)

MIL-STD-881 Work Breakdown Structures for Defense Materiel Items

MIL-STD-1399-301 Department of Defense Interface Standard - Interface Standard for Shipboard Systems Section 301A Ship Motion and Attitude

MIL-STD-1399-302 Department of Defense Interface Standard - Interface Standard for Shipboard Systems Section 302 Weather Environment

NSTM Chapter 320 S9086-KY-STM-010 Naval Ships' Technical Manual for Electric Power Distribution Systems Chapter 320

This work by Norbert Doerry is licensed under CC BY 4.0