Caspian ExplorerPassenger

The Caspian Explorer is Saud Kruger's deep-space flagship, and its fourteen optional internals make it a formidable passenger hull on paper — the size-7 slot takes the shield so every size-6 goes to fares, and the deep slot count fits ~150 economy berths or a full economy/first/luxury board. Only the Imperial Cutter and Beluga carry more.

The catch is what it isn't. Unlike the Beluga, Orca, Lynx and Dolphin, the Caspian is a Zorgon Peterson explorer, not a dedicated Saud Kruger liner — so it carries no passenger-comfort bonus. Every seat pays standard fares, exactly like the converted Anaconda and Python, and the dedicated liners out-earn it per cabin. Add the highest hull price in the game (~189M Cr) and large-pad-only access, and the Caspian becomes a capacity-heavy but poor-value tourer: fine if you already own one for exploration and want to run the odd sightseeing board, wrong as a purpose-bought passenger ship.

Three things shape the Caspian as a passenger ship — two for it, one against:

• Deep cabin suite. Fourteen optional internals fit ~150 economy berths or a mixed economy/first/luxury board — among the deepest in the role, beaten only by the Cutter and Beluga.
• Room for a real shield. The size-7 slot holds a bi-weave (cabins cap at size 6, so no fare is lost), and six utility mounts stack boosters and point defence to keep passengers safe on threatened routes.
• No comfort bonus. As a Zorgon Peterson explorer it earns standard fares only — a Beluga, Orca, Lynx or Dolphin pays far more per equal seat. The defining weakness of the fit.

A capacity-heavy converted explorer that fits ~150 berths behind a real shield, but earns no liner comfort bonus and costs the most in the game — a poor-value tourer held to a mid-field 60.

The 60/100 headline is a verdict against the passenger role's priority-ordered factors. Each factor carries a weight (its share of 100); this hull earns part of each based on how it performs against the whole field. The points sum to the rating.

Every table rates ships for passenger specifically, split by landing-pad class. The Cabin cap. column is total optional-internal capacity — room for cabins; the rating is the same 1–100 suitability verdict used across the site.

Same class — large passenger ships

9 large-pad passenger hulls carry a rating, led by Beluga Liner (95). Every same-pad rival lands where this one does — the direct field to shop.

Other classes — the medium tourers

The medium-pad passenger field (8 rated), led by Lynx Highliner (90) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

Other classes — the shuttle-class

The small-pad passenger field (2 rated), led by Dolphin (80) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.

At ~189M Cr the Caspian is the most expensive hull in the game, and a full passenger fit — a big shield, ten-plus cabins and six utilities — pushes the all-in figure past 250M Cr. There is no rank or permit gate, but the price alone rules it out as a first passenger ship.

The honest case is dual-use: if you already own a Caspian for exploration, its vast internals swap between a scoop-and-AFMU expedition fit and a deep cabin suite in an outfitting bay, so the odd sightseeing board costs nothing extra. As a purpose-bought tourer it is indefensible on value — a Beluga carries more for less, and a Lynx or Dolphin earns the comfort premium it never will.

A high-capacity converted-explorer liner: the size-7 slot holds the shield so every size-6 goes to fares, filling a deep mixed cabin suite behind a fast-charging bi-weave on a 950t hull. Initial is buy-only (a base shield and two economy cabins to start earning); A-Rated is the tourer baseline; Engineered leans the hull for range while keeping VIPs safe. Cabins are swap-to-suit — economy for bulk sightseeing, first/luxury for premium boards.

Buy the hull and fit the base class-8 FSD, a base shield in the size-7 slot for passenger safety, and two economy cabins to start earning. The stock Lightweight Alloy hull is free, so no bulkhead spend here.

Everything else goes in E-rated and cheap buy-only: power plant, thrusters, life support, power distributor and sensors all at base grade, with a class-7 fuel tank.

Leave the remaining optional internals empty for now — the full cabin suite, the utility boosters and the surface scanner all wait for the A-rated pass, once the first fares have paid the hull down.

A-rating priority for a passenger tourer:

• 1Bi-Weave Shield 7 (size-7 slot) — A fast-charging shield keeps VIPs safe under interdiction; the size-7 slot costs no cabin. ~20M Cr
• 2Fill the cabin suite — Economy for bulk, first/luxury in the size-4-plus slots for premium fares. Match the mix to the board. ~35M Cr
• 3FSD → 8A — The class-8 drive still matters for reaching distant scenic beacons; A-rate it once the cabins earn. ~25M Cr
• 4Power plant, thrusters, distributor → A — Power the shield and boosters, and give the heavy hull the boost to escape trouble. ~30M Cr
• 5Three shield boosters + point defence + heat sink — Stack boosters on the utility mounts; point defence stops missiles, the heat sink covers scooping. ~2M Cr
• 6Detailed Surface Scanner — A size-1 slot earns cartographic data on the side between fares. ~250k Cr

The passenger engineering pattern: a fast-charging bi-weave and stacked boosters for safety, a lightened hull and a range-tuned class-8 FSD to reach distant boards. Pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Approximate progression across the three states (figures are representative, not exact rolls):

Engineered, the Caspian carries ~150 economy berths (or a mixed VIP board) behind a ~1,000 MJ bi-weave, jumping ~48 LY loaded — enough to chain near-bubble tourist beacons, well short of a stripped explorer's ~78 LY. What none of it buys is a comfort bonus: every seat still pays standard fares. The capacity is flagship-scale; the earnings-per-seat are ordinary.

• Put the shield in the size-7 slot — cabins cap at size 6, so it costs no fare and frees every size-6 for seats.
• No comfort bonus — match the Caspian to capacity boards, not premium-fare boards a Beluga or Orca earns more on.
• Mind the large pad — it can't service outpost-only tourist beacons; plan boards around orbital stations and planetary ports.
• Only worth fitting for passengers if you already own one — a purpose-bought tourer should be a Beluga, Orca or Lynx.