The requirement ashore is the safety of human beings. So, inorder to prevent human-electrical accidents, the neutral is earthed. The priority is neither the safety of the machinery nor the continuous necessary operation of the machinery. But the scenario onboard ship is totally different. The priority is the continuous operation of the machineries which are classed “essential”. The distribution system followed onboard is “insulated neutral” system. The main priority onboard is the safety of ship which includes navigation & fire safety..etc. If due to earth fault, the machinery classed as"essential" gets isolated, say for eg: steering gear, then the safety of ship is at question, which may lead to collison, grounding, fire & pollution etc..So the priority onboard ship is to maintain the continuity of the supply to the machinery in the event of “single earth fault occurring”.