Merchant Vessel
Capital Ship Combatants | Escort Combatants | Military Smallcraft | Support Ships | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Battleship | Cruiser | Carrier | Destroyer | Escort | Frigate | System Defense Boat | Fighter | Assault Transport | Smallcraft | Auxiliaries |
Commercial Mercantile Ships | Non-Mercantile Commercial Ships | Non-Commercial Ships | Civilian Smallcraft | Highports & Satellites | ||||||
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Merchant | Liner | Transport | Commercial Industrial | Commercial Ships | General | Research | Private | Auxiliary | Orbital Complexes |
Satellites |
A Merchant is an individual or ship engaged primarily in trade and commerce.
Please see the following AAB articles for more information:
- Interstellar Commerce
- Merchant
- Galactic Stock Exchange
- Interstellar Currency
- Interstellar Banking
- Resource Units
- UWP
- Business Entities
- Cartels
- Corporation
- Megacorporation
- Merchant Line
- Merchant Service
- Trade Organizations
- Ship type codes and Ship Hull Designations
Description
Merchant ships range in size from small 200 ton Far and Free Trader class ships to large liners and cargo vessels of up to 10,000 tons displacement. The crews of these ships are also referred to as Merchants.
Ship Doctrine
Merchant Ship Types include the following:
Armored Merchant (MA) | Any starship used for interstellar trade, and commerce that has been set up with weapon systems for defense. |
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Merchant Liner (MD) | Merchant Liners are general-purpose design starships, intended to carry both passengers and freight. They are larger than the Far Traders intended for cargoes over 200 tons and over a dozen passengers |
Subsidized Merchant (MG) | In subsidized commerce, a local government (or a group of several worlds) agree to subsidize the construction of commercial starships in return for their servicing established routes. Ideally, the route will be profitable, and the subsidy can soon be ended. But, even without profits, the route provides a channel for interstellar trade, helping to provide markets for resources and finished goods as well as, enabling people from different world to share their cultures.
Typically, governments expect subsidized merchants to try to establish routes to make at least marginal profits to diminish the government expense burden. Although individual ports of call may not always provide sales at high margins, at least initially, the ultimate goal is to make the ship self-sufficient. Unfortunately all subsidized merchants are not all profitable and these ships may be recipients of government subsidies for years. Governments have to factor in the benefits derived from the established routes against the costs of maintaining the subsidy. This often becomes the deciding factor with somewhat isolated worlds with limited markets. |
Far Trader (ML) | A Far Trader is a small starship commonly used for interstellar trade and commerce that is capable of jump 2. Hundreds of variants exist. The typical size equals 200 tons. |
Free Trader (ML) | A Free Trader is a small starship commonly used for interstellar trade and commerce that is capable of jump 1. Hundreds of variants exist. The typical size equals 200 tons. |
Frontier Trader (MS) | A heavily armed transport normally doing business with fringe systems. |
Merchant Cruiser | A generic term applied to vessels specifically assigned to independent missions, the prime objective of which is market discovery and acquisition, either in isolation or in completion with other merchant operators. Design parameters for such vessels usually include a high level of weaponry and auxiliary boats in proportion to their cargo capacity and all possible back-up systems, along with high structural integrity.
Also called an Armed Merchantman, as merchant cruisers are unusally armed. A starship merchant primarily intended for independent cruising in undeveloped trade areas where high survivability is also a design factor. |
Representative Classes
References and contributors
- Marc Miller. Fighting Ships of the Shattered Imperium (Game Designers Workshop, 1990), .
- Citation Missing - Traveller The New Era
- Subsidized Merchant Deck Plans Seeker Gaming Systems: Subsidized Merchant
- Type A2 Far Trader Deck Plans Seeker Gaming Systems: Empress Marava
- Garu class Type A2 Far Trader The Flaming Eye
- Garu class Type A2 Far Trader MegaTraveller Journal 4
- Soho class Light Freighter Traveller Chronicle 13
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science