On the example of a thermal scheme of a waste-distillation vacuum desalination plant, it is considered how the heat exchange parameters change depending on the time of year and the region of navigation of the vessel or the location of the plant. The performance of the desalination plant depends on the performance of the engine and the temperature of the sea water, since the main engine is cooled by sea water, which in turn is used to heat the heating battery in the desalination plant. In this thermal scheme, water is heated in a heat exchanger, the characteristics of which can be selected the same as those of the main engine of the vessel.