Cargo Pods OXZ

Goods Container "Pod" variant with downworld frame adapter.

FE Shipyards

FE Shipyards is pleased to announce an initial production run of externally mounted cargo pods, to be attached to the hardpoints of our auxiliary pylon. The following capacities are becoming available in the Equipment departments of most reputable shipyards:

The 10-ton pod for 10,000 cr (tech level 4+)
The 20-ton pod for 20,000 cr (tech level 4+).
The 30-ton pod for 30,000 cr (tech level 4+).
The 40-ton pod for 40,000 cr (tech level 4+).
The 50-ton pod for 50,000 cr (tech level 4+).

Our pod container variant comes with a rectangular frame adaptor for transport vehicles downworld, as well as shuttle offloading by machine.

Installation time for the 20-ton pod, for example, is an estimated 2.5 Lave days.

Logistics

Upon sale of goods, the pod is detached for shipment downworld or for Station wholesale or retail. A fresh pod is then affixed and loaded with your choice of commodities. Thus when 'buying' a goods pod, you are in effect purchasing a licence to carry the particular pod class.

Once unloaded at the downworld receiving-point or warehouse, FE Shipyards' empty pods are shuttled back to Station for cleaning, refitting or repair. Depending on care and planetary conditions, the useful lifetime for one of our pods is expected to be between 10 and 35 Lave years.

Terms

To help ensure longevity, the trader will pay to G.E.T a periodic maintenance fee (0.05 of cost) for the particular pod licenced.

A small handling fee (0.005 of cost) will be taken for your pod upon docking. This is merely to cover our attachment/detachment & loading/unloading services.

Guilders may optionally apply for an exemption to the handling fees.

Sizes

A note on the size of a 20-foot (6 m) Goods Pod

The '20 TC' Pod's frame dimensions - in Lave metres - are:

6.10 m long x 2.44 m wide x 2.59 m high

That is to say, equal to the Galcop-mandated standard downworld size for this class of transport cannister. Sizes of our other pod products may readily be extrapolated from these measurements.

Taking the Cobra III FE's quoted hull dimensions of 130 x 81 x 34 metres, it is not hard to see that a 20-ton Goods Pod's external profile is negligible - just a small bump/bulge on the underside of the craft.

Downworld, a 6 m pod’s unloaded weight is 2,300 kg and can, in theory, be loaded to a maximum weight of 28 tons (25,400 kg). However, this depends in large part on the possible restrictions and/or limitations of the shipping line, the nature of the cargo, planet gravity, and specific details of the shipment.

In space there is of course no weight - only mass and volume. A recent G.E.T. feasibility study has shown that there would be no impediment to developing Pods of 30, 40, 50, and 100 tons. As a result, their go-ahead was given to the FE Shipyards to proceed with production.

Watch this page for news.

Examples

Some example capacities, using FE Ships as a baseline:

20-ton Pod:

Krait FE: 17 TC base + 1x Goods Pod = 37 TC.

Adder FE: 15 TC base + cargo bay extension = 30 TC + 1x Goods Pod = 50 TC.

Viper II FE: 30 TC base + cargo bay extension = 45 TC + 1x Goods Pod = 65 TC.

Cobra Mk 3 FE: 55 TC base + cargo bay extension = 70 TC + 1x Goods Pod = 90 TC.

Asp II FE: 75 TC base + cargo bay extension = 90 TC + 1x Goods Pod = 110 TC.

50-ton Pod:

Krait FE: 17 TC base + 1x Goods Pod = 67 TC.

Adder FE: 15 TC base + cargo bay extension = 30 TC + 1x Goods Pod = 80 TC.

Viper II FE: 30 TC base + cargo bay extension = 45 TC + 1x Goods Pod = 95 TC.

Cobra Mk 3 FE: 55 TC base + cargo bay extension = 70 TC + 1x Goods Pod = 110 TC.

Asp II FE: 75 TC base + cargo bay extension = 90 TC + 1x Goods Pod = 140 TC.

Conditions

Our special cargo pods will become buyable in all sizes via your ship's Equipment interface once the auxiliary pylon has been installed. The auxiliary pylon is thus a dependency and a pre-requisite for all our cargo pods.

The shipowner should choose wisely and carefully which class of pod licence to purchase as, unlike our line of Goods Containers, only one cargo pod size may be licenced and this licence is fixed and permanent. Goods Containers, on the other hand, may be freely removed and replaced by other sizes in the range.