The increase in the power supply of ships is manifested in growth of ship power plants' capacity, the total length of cable lines, and the number of electrified mechanisms. With the development of marine technology, the severity of the consequences of damage to ship electrical equipment and the costs of its maintenance and repair increase. The search for ways to improve the reliability and safety of electrical equipment should be based on design and technological solutions at the stages of its development and production, as well as an analysis of various factors that may appear during the operation of marine equipment and affect the condition of ship electrical systems. During studying these factors, it has been revealed that one of the common types of damage to electrical equipment of marine equipment is single-phase short circuits, the causes of which are varied. Preventing short circuits is labour intensive and in some cases impracticable. However, understanding the characteristics of this type of damage to low-voltage equipment is necessary to improve the reliability and safety of ship electrical systems. The conducted research is based on a survey of ship electrical mechanics. The results of the surveys have made it possible to analyze the frequency of occurrence of single-phase insulation faults, the duration of their existence, to identify the most likely places of occurrence of short circuits and equipment that is more susceptible to such damage compared to other elements of the electrical power system.