Long-distance Transports

I guess the main question I here is: Why would someone opperate a massive J6 ship and fillnit with other ships rather than cargo of their own? For the destination it would be hugely disappointing to have such a ship arrive in system only for it to offload a number of tramp traders.

One possibility is that a route is already well-served for conventional cargo shipping and this serves a different market (though whether or not it's viable is another matter).

As for the disappointed systems, perhaps the ship's requirements, its crew, and its passengers all represent other business opportunities for the locals.

I can see the challenges inherent in making this work. Traveller is a game that takes some pride in having a realistic (at least with the parameters of the setting's concepts) and consistent set rules for key elements like space travel, ship construction, and trade. Push things too hard and they don't look right anymore. It becomes a matter of balancing any wonkiness in an idea against anything interesting it brings to the game in terms of plot and setting.

Aside from potential story ideas, something this might bring to the table is a philosophical idea within the setting itself: ordinary people can say, "Yes, I'm part of the Imperium and it matters to me, because I/my family/my business can move around in it within tolerable timeframes."

Another thought, some cost elements could be brought down because you're effectively transporting qualified people: a percentage of your crew can be the very people you're transporting?

Just thinking out loud here.

Regards,
Robin
 
A J6 ship would only have max 20% capacity for cargo, tramp traders have around 50%, so still knocking your capacity a huge amount.
Agreed, it would be silly cost ineffective.


I would possibly design such ships with collapsible tanks so that they can increase cargo capacity if they aren't using the full J6 capacity. Each reduction would yield 10% of ships size in new cargo capacity.
Collapsible tanks can't fuel the drives directly, it has to pumped into regular tanks first.

Fuel/Cargo Containers can be used for cargo or jump fuel as needed, albeit at a tonnage cost.
 
I can see the challenges inherent in making this work. Traveller is a game that takes some pride in having a realistic (at least with the parameters of the setting's concepts) and consistent set rules for key elements like space travel, ship construction, and trade. Push things too hard and they don't look right anymore. It becomes a matter of balancing any wonkiness in an idea against anything interesting it brings to the game in terms of plot and setting.
It has a set of rules for trade, how realistic they are is another matter...


It would be vastly cheaper to fill the Free Trader with fuel and make many successive jumps, than buying a ride on a tender. The tender service would only save some time.
 
IIRC, the hundred diameter limit applies to ships, too. That is going to be a long and fat hose.
AFAIK, it does, and I was envisioning a long, fat hose with cut-off valves regularly staged to prevent excess fuel waste, but given the choice of using this or depending on a jump bridge, I would choose the pre-fueling every time over a strategic depot in the middle of nowhere.

That said, @Sigtrygis completely right, so there has to be a reason this doesn't exist.

The most obvious reasons involve the umbilicus either destabilizes the jump bubble or transfers enough energy to destroy the tanker or both.

On the positive side, that lets me move this into the realm of MacGuffin: Weird Ancient tech, project at Imperial Research Base, secret technology that the Navy is keeping for itself, TL 17 gew-gaw, or whatever I need to dangle in front of the players.

Thanks, all--
 
I don't see the economic case.

The Navy and intelligence services might do hop along cassidy for their couriers, because information may have a use by date.
 
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