Patent ID: 8147282

Claim:
A method of operating a marine vessel that comprises an internal combustion engine, a fuel oil storage device for supplying fuel oil to the internal combustion engine, a generator, an electrolysis device, an H 2 storage device, and an H 2 operated power generation apparatus, said method comprising: when the marine vessel is at sea, fueling the internal combustion engine with fuel oil from the fuel oil storage device, using the internal combustion engine to drive both a mechanical propulsion system and the generator, supplying electrical energy produced by the generator to the electrolysis device by way of a switchboard for producing H 2 from seawater, and supplying H 2 produced by electrolysis device to the H 2 storage device, when the marine vessel enters, leaves or is in port, supplying H 2 from the H 2 storage device to the H 2 operated power generation apparatus for producing electrical energy, and supplying electrical energy produced by the H 2 operated power generation apparatus by way of the switchboard to an electrical propulsion system.