Cost to charter non-merchant ships

[Spartan159]

Classic Traveller had rules for chartering merchant ships, but what about non-merchants? How much to hire that Safari trip, or get a lab ship to investigate something for you? What about getting some scouts with a survey ship to do a private survey? What does it cost to hire escort ships for your small convoy? Looking for any input into this subject, related issues and such. Willing to steal borrow from any edition.

 

[Vormaerin]

Safari Ship (the adventure) says to use the effective cargo and freight rates for spaces like trophy rooms and such. IIRC, they calculated it at 95k per 2 weeks or something like that.

 

[Condottiere]

If it isn't a freighter, it would be open to negotiation, to the point it might be cheaper to buy your own starship.

Generally, the rental should cover operating costs and mortgage for at least twice the length of the charter, plus deposit, plus net profit.

 

[Galadrion]

Any charter price should be based on operating costs (including salaries) plus mortgage, with a percentage markup applied. (I usually use 10%, modified by the Effect of an opposed Negotiation check.) Deposit is a separate matter, heavily influenced by the Travellers' reputations, the owner's evaluation of the hazards of the proposed course of action, and various other factors. (If the Travellers refuse to take any of the owner's crew, that's probably going to spark some concern... Do these jokers plan on disappearing with my ship, or what?)

 

[Arkathan]

All of the above, plus the Mercenaries Ticket guidelines.

 

[Condottiere]

If the charter doesn't end in or near the starship's homeport, you'd like want charge for transit time, even if the captain can find something else to transport.

Even if there are no repairs, the starship might need to be refurbished for the next trip.