The course of the government of the Russian Federation for the development of the sea and river fleet is determined by a number of Federal target programs. These programs provide for the modernization of the composition of the sea, river and fishing fleet. The article provides analysis of the current state of the civil fleet of the Russian Federation, as well as an overview of engines that are part of the power plants of the vessels in service. There are considered prospects for the development of shipbuilding in Russia on the basis of plans for construction of different purpose vessels. Achieving the goal set by the fovernment should be ensured taking into account the policy of import substitution of the most important elements of sea and river technology. The authors state that the solution of the tasks is impossible without the development of ship propulsion engineering in Russia. The article presents the review of engine-building enterprises of the Russian Federation and products manufactured by them, most attention being given to engine rotational velocity and output. The authors give a comparative analysis to diesel engines produced in Russia and engines of leading foreign manufacturers, which is based on main technical and economic parameters, such as specific effective fuel consumption, average effective pressure, specific gravity, etc. The results of analysis helped to establish the most promising domestic manufacturers of diesel engines capable to compete with foreign manufacturers of marine diesel engines. The article shows the prospects of converting versatile engines produced at domestic enterprises into marine engines, with appropriate modernization of their systems and use of domestic components in their design which meet modern requirements. The article shows the most promising engines of Russian manufacturers, their technical and economic characteristics, which ensure competitiveness; gives the dimensions of advanced engines. The article contains recommendations for ensuring the developing and production of competitive marine engines intended for sea, fishing and river fleets in the Russian Federation.