The purpose of the work is to show why pumps are an essential part of every ship's system in terms of safety. The basic description of pumps is explained in the chapter Pumps, their use and division. The advantages and disadvantages of pumps are described in the chapter Principles of pump operation, emphasizing that no hydraulic-mechanical device is perfect. By choosing the appropriate type of pump for our system, we can minimize its disadvantages, or increase its advantages. Which is shown in the chapter Pumps for fire protection systems on ships. It is important to emphasize that technology advances every day and pumps with better characteristics and cheaper manufacturing costs appear on the market. But there is no pump that can suit every medium and always and in all conditions give maximum results. For this reason, the correct selection of the pump is important, which is described in the chapter Example of a fire protection system on a passenger ship.