Derelict

A Derelict is an abandoned space or starcraft, often left adrift in the cold, dark reaches of the void.

• In a broader sense, derelicts can be ANY property that has been abandoned.
• Smallcraft, bigcraft, and all other sorts of craft and vehicles can also be left derelict.

Description (Specifications)

In astrographic law, flotsam, jetsam, lagan, and derelicts are specific kinds of shipwrecks. The words have specific astrographical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and astrographic salvage. A shipwreck is defined as the remains of a ship that has been wrecked, a destroyed ship in space, wherever it be found.

A wreck is categorized as property belonging to no apparent owner. The term encompasses the hull of the vessel and its fixtures, as well as any other form of object on board, such as cargo and stores, and personal effects of the crew and passengers. This also encompasses the narrower definition of salvage, that is, property that has been recovered from a wreckage, or the recovery of the ship itself.

Large numbers of derelicts are known to collect in or near Space Sargassos or other mysterious anomalies.

History & Background (Dossier)

Complex laws surround the recovery of derelicts. It essentially comes don to might is right and the first navy or starship to reach a derelict can generally hope to recover it and not get caught.

Ownership of a wreck is a highly controversial issue, as there are no clear lines within which it is defined. It may be acquired through various means that range from succession to confiscation. There is also a distinction to be made between the ownership of the hull itself and the cargo it contains, as the hull may be abandoned intentionally, whereas the cargo may be out of necessity (in the case of an emergency or the need to shed weight from the vessel). In these parameters, abandonment of the ship by its passengers constitutes as a loss of possession, but to abandon the claim on the title itself, intention to relinquish it is required. This affects wrecks by limiting that which is considered "abandoned". Generally, a ship is defined as "abandoned" if there is no hope of recovery, known legally as Sine spe recuperandi (...which is the Latin phrase for "no hope of recovery"), and this fact must be clearly proven by the salvaging party.

Derelict Recovery & Salvage Industry

Companies and corporations such as Spinward Salvage LIC specialize in derelict recovery and exploitation.

References & Contributors (Sources)

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• The Great Rift
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science