Type-7 TransporterPassenger

The Type-7 Transporter wasn't built for passengers — it's Lakon's cheap mid-tier freighter — but its deep optional internals (three class-6, three class-5 slots) fill with cabins as readily as cargo racks. Fit them out and it carries ~150 economy berths for well under 17M credits, making it by far the cheapest way to move a big tourist manifest. For a commander who already owns one as a hauler, swapping racks for cabins turns it into a budget passenger ship at a station, no new hull required.

That's where the case ends, though. It has no liner comfort bonus, so passengers pay standard economy rates rather than the premiums a Beluga, Orca or Lynx commands; it's lightly defended (a 155 MJ base shield on 340 base armour), slow, and — oddly for a class-3 hull — large-pad-only, so it can't service outpost-only tourist beacons. The Type-7 is the volume-on-a-budget pick, not the earnings pick: take it to bulk-haul economy fares cheaply, and graduate to a dedicated liner when the credits allow.

What makes the Type-7 a workable — if unglamorous — passenger hull:

• Cheap berths in bulk. Deep optionals fit ~150 economy seats on a hull under 17M credits — the lowest cost-per-berth of any passenger ship.
• Dual-use freighter. Already own one for trade? Swap cargo racks for cabins at a station and it earns passenger fares the same week.
• No rank gate. Anyone with the credits can fly one — no Imperial or Federal rank, no permit.
• Decent light range. A workable laden jump for an economy run; not a liner's reach, but enough for ordinary tourist loops.

Leads on ~150 cheap economy berths from deep 6·6·6·5·5·5 optionals at under 30M Cr all-in; capped at 56 by zero liner comfort bonus, a thin 155 MJ shield, and large-pad-only access.

The 56/100 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.

Both tables rate ships for passenger work specifically. The role column is the maximum economy passenger capacity — but note that dedicated liners earn comfort bonuses (far more profit per seat) the Type-7 does not, so raw berth count overstates its earning power.

Same class — large passenger ships

Every large passenger ship above out-earns the Type-7 per seat — the Beluga and Orca through the comfort bonus, the Cutter and Anaconda through berths, shields and range. The Type-7's only edge over the lot is price: it carries a big economy manifest for a tenth of their cost. It's the budget hold, not a liner.

Other classes — the medium options & near-neighbours

Against its near-neighbours the Type-7 wins on one axis only: sheer berth count. The Dolphin and Python earn more per seat and land on medium and outpost pads it can't use; the Clipper and Asp bring speed and range. The Type-7 makes sense when you want the most cheap economy seats in a single hull and don't mind the large pad — little else.

At ~16.8M Cr the hull is cheap, with no rank gate, and that's the whole appeal. The passenger fit costs more than a trade fit — first-class and luxury cabins aren't cheap — but a mostly-economy suite with a shield and an A-rated FSD still lands around ~30M Cr all-in, a fraction of any dedicated liner. The rebuy is light, around ~0.8M Cr.

Like the trade fit, the spend isn't locked to one job: the cabins swap back to cargo racks at a station, so the same engineered hull moves passengers one week and commodities the next. For a commander already running a Type-7 as a hauler, adding a cabin set is the cheapest entry into passenger work there is.

A cheap economy-cabin fit that keeps a defensive shield. Initial is buy-only; A-Rated is the passenger baseline; Engineered maximises range and keeps the cabins safe. Hardpoints run clean — the four small mounts stay empty.

Buy the hull (~16.8M Cr) on stock E-rated core internals. The Lightweight Alloy bulkhead is the free default — leave it; a budget passenger hull never spends on armour. Fit economy cabins in the two class-6 slots and one class-5 slot for bulk volume from the start.

Everything else stays empty buy-only: the third class-6 slot (held for the bi-weave shield), the remaining class-5/3/2/1 optionals, and all four utility mounts — no shield, boosters or point defence yet, so the hull flies undefended until the A-rated pass.

A-rate the FSD and thrusters first so the laden ship jumps and moves well enough to clear routes, then add the shield and the rest of the cabins.

A-rating priority for a budget economy-passenger hull (the Lightweight Alloy bulkhead stays stock throughout — no armour spend on a passenger run):

• 1FSD → 5A — Range keeps ordinary tourist loops efficient; A-rate it first. ~5M Cr
• 2Cabin suite — The payload; fit mostly economy with a 5C first-class slot for VIP boards. varies
• 3Shield Generator → 6C bi-weave — Passenger safety on a lightly-built hull; one class-6 slot. ~3M Cr
• 4Thrusters → 5A — Move the laden hull and shake interdictions. ~4M Cr
• 5Power Plant → 5A — Power for cabins, shield and modules. ~5M Cr
• 6Power Distributor → 4A — Feeds the boost you need to escape an interdiction. cheap
• 7Support kit — Life Support to 4A, Sensors to 3D (save mass), plus the utilities (two shield boosters, point defence, heat sink) and a 3A shield cell bank. Bulkhead stays stock Lightweight Alloy. varies

The passenger engineering pattern, light by design. Felicity Farseer (maxed) carries the FSD; pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application.

Recommended order

• 1FSD Increased Range first — keeps the economy loops efficient; add a Guardian booster if you have it.
• 2Dirty thrusters to move the laden hull and escape interdiction.
• 3Bi-weave shield and Heavy-Duty boosters for passenger safety on a thin hull.
• 4Cabins aren't engineered — just fit the right classes for the board.

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

The bulkhead never changes — Lightweight Alloy on all three states, with the engineered Lightweight blueprint trimming hull mass to feed that ~26 LY laden jump rather than raising armour; a passenger hull doesn't fight, so the ~108 base armour just rides along. Engineered, the Type-7 carries ~150 economy passengers for under 30M Cr all-in — the cheapest big berth count in the game. But it earns standard fares with no comfort bonus, its shield stays modest, and it's stuck on large pads. It's the budget volume pick; for earnings-per-seat, comfort or pad flexibility, a dedicated liner wins every time.

• Pack economy cabins for volume — cheap bulk berths are the Type-7's only real edge in this role.
• There's no liner comfort bonus — it earns standard fares; for per-seat pay a Beluga, Orca, Lynx or Dolphin wins.
• Keep a bi-weave shield and boosters; the hull is lightly built (155 MJ base) and a lost board hurts.
• Mind the large pad — it can't service outpost-only tourist beacons that mediums and smalls can.
• Swap the cabins for cargo racks and the same hull becomes your trade freighter again — it has that manual too.