The article is devoted to the development of approaches to the rapid identification of the technical condition of marine electric power systems. It is shown that the means of technical diagnostics used on modern ships are used only for maintenance and repair of power equipment and are not adapted to provide preventive control in abnormal operating modes. The definition of rapid identification of a technical state as a process of technical diagnostics of a marine electric power system for the purposes of preventive and emergency control of its technical condition is given. The statement is substantiated that the means of technical diagnostics should not only identify the inoperative state of the system elements, but also predict the mode of its operation after disconnecting the inoperative generator set, provide the information necessary to ensure a trouble-free transition of the electric power system to a partially operable state. It is shown that, in contrast to the existing approaches to diagnosing the technical state of the ship’s electric power system, it is necessary to take into account the rate of change of the controlled parameter, as well as to determine the probable time of its reaching the maximum permissible value. The necessity of identifying an inoperative element of the system and the implementation of control actions to exclude an emergency until the moment of overloading of the operable generating sets, their shutdown by protection and power outage is substantiated. This information in each specific case will allow the decision-making system of the marine electric power system to formulate recommendations for the maintenance personnel and the preventive protection system on the necessary impacts on the control object in order to avoid an emergency. The main reasons for overloading the marine electric power system have been formulated, algorithms have been developed for the practical solution of the problem of rapid identification of the technical state of the system for cases associated with overloading of serviceable electrical machines due to disconnection of inoperative generator sets.