Beowulf class free trader

One of the most ubiquitous designs in the Third Imperium, the Beowulf class has been built for hundreds of years, and is still being built today. The key requirements for the class were price, reliability and reparability. For this reason it is still built at tech level 10, to ensure the widest possible range of starports that repairs and components can be available at. The ubiquity of the design, especially in the larger mains, means that the drive mounts and dimensions have become something of a standard, with multiple manufacturers building drives that will fit. For this reason, Boewulf class ships will be found with a bewildering variety of different mechanical components, reflecting decades or centuries of field repairs. Owners should be cautious of the many cheap copies of reputable drives that are out there though, many sold as if they were the quality brand.

The ship is streamlined to allow ubiquitous access even to planets without highports. Fuel skimming comes as standard, again to allow the widest possible market access.

The Hero class? far trader and Aeneas class fast trader are built using the same hull as the Beowulf class, but with upgraded drives and fuel capacity reducing the cargo carrying capacity.