A one-trick barge stretched thin — vast hold, everything else a compromise
The Type-9 Heavy is a bulk freighter asked to do the whole game, and it only really answers with cargo. Eleven optional internals — two of them size 8 — give it the biggest hold of any non-Cutter hull, so as a hauler it is superb. As a multipurpose ship it is stretched thin: the guns are self-defence only, the size-6 drive drags 850 tonnes to a poor jump, and it is the slowest, softest hull in the role field. Buy it to haul; it will dabble in the rest, never lead them.
Type-9 Heavy · Lakon Spaceways
44/100
3M · 2S
Hardpoints
11
Optional internals
~790 t
Max cargo
~72M Cr
Hull price
Large
Pad class
Rating methodology
This ship's 1–100 suitability rating reflects its fully-engineered fit for this role, scored against every ship in the role. See how ships are rated.
01
Role & Overview
The Type-9 Heavy is Lakon's dedicated bulk freighter, and its whole design points one way: carry more than anything short of an Imperial Cutter. Eleven optional internals topped by two class-8 slots swallow hundreds of tonnes of cargo racks, a passenger cabin, or a full mining suite — so it can technically turn its hand to trading, passengers and ore.
What it cannot do is the combat and travel half of “multipurpose.” The three medium and two small hardpoints mount self-defence guns and no more; the size-6 Frame Shift Drive drags an 850-tonne hull to a short jump; and at 130/200 m/s it is the slowest hull in the role field, unable to flee an interdiction it cannot win. As an all-rounder it is really a hauler that dabbles — which is exactly why it sits near the bottom of the ladder.
Where this hull shines
High-volume hauling above all — trade runs, community-goal fortification and bulk mission cargo. It will also mine or carry passengers in a pinch, but it can never become a warship or an explorer.
Two things make the Type-9 versatile — and two things cap how far that versatility reaches:
The biggest non-Cutter hold. Eleven optional internals including two size-8 slots take ~790 t of cargo, a large mining suite, or a stack of cabins — deep enough to serve any hold-based role at scale.
No rank or permit gate. A large-pad barge open to everyone, cheap for the capacity — the least-gated route to a truly enormous hold.
Self-defence firepower only. Three medium and two small mounts across four utilities discourage a lone pirate but win no fight; there is no large mount and no military slot for a reinforcement stack.
Slow and short-legged. 130/200 m/s makes it the slowest hull in the field, and a size-6 FSD hauling 850 t caps the laden jump in the mid-20s LY — it cannot flee trouble or explore.
The ceiling, stated honestly
A Python or Anaconda hauls nearly as much while fighting, jumping and fleeing far better; the medium Type-8 Transporter gives up some cargo for a landing-anywhere medium pad and a lower price. The Type-9's argument is raw volume and nothing else — pick it when the hold is the whole point and you accept it does the rest of the game poorly.
03
Why This Rating
Scorecard
A deep-holed value barge — the biggest non-Cutter cargo bay on eleven internals carries the score, but self-defence-only firepower, a size-6 FSD dragging 850 t, large-pad-only access and the slowest, softest hull in the field cap every other role at the bottom of the multipurpose ladder.
The 44/100 headline is a verdict against the multipurpose 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.
Role factor
Score
Why this score
Breadth of internals
26/30
Eleven optional internals (8·8·7·6·5·4·4·3·3·2·1) incl. two size-8 slots for ~790 t — the biggest non-Cutter hold; capped short of max by no military slot and only 11 slots vs the Cutter/Caspian.
Firepower
5/20
3 Medium + 2 Small hardpoints and 4 utilities — no large mount, no military slot, all fed by a class-6 plant; strictly self-defence guns, among the weakest weapon fits in the role.
Jump range
4/20
A size-6 FSD dragging an 850 t frame gives only ~26 LY engineered laden and far less loaded — well short of the Asp/Phantom; rules out exploration.
Flexibility & re-fit cost
6/15
No rank or permit gate and cheap for the capacity (~72M Cr hull), but large-pad-only bars outposts and it can never become a warship or explorer — a pure barge that only ever refits into a better hauler.
Survivability & handling
3/15
Weakest-relative ~110 MJ base shield on an 850 t hull and 130/200 m/s — the slowest, softest hull in the field; it cannot flee or fight an interdiction even engineered.
Weighted total
44/100
Matches the headline suitability rating for this ship in this role.
How to read it
Weights are an editorial decomposition of the role's stated priority order — not an in-game formula. Bar length shows how fully each factor is earned; the longest factors carried the score, the shortest are where it gave points away. See how ships are rated.
04
How It Compares
Every table rates ships for multipurpose specifically, split by landing-pad class. The Max cargo column is maximum cargo tonnage — a proxy for internal room; the rating is the same 1–100 suitability verdict used across the site.
The medium-pad multipurpose field (8 rated), led by Python (86) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.
The small-pad multipurpose field (4 rated), led by Cobra Mk V (80) — cheaper hulls and tighter pads. They undercut this hull on the numbers, but sit a pad class away.
05
Cost & Access
Hull
~72M Cr
Retail (A-rated)
~95M Cr
Engineered
~110M+ Cr
Pad
Large
Rank
None
Permit
None
At ~72M Cr with no rank or permit gate, the Type-9 is the cheapest route to a truly enormous cargo hold. A working A-rated fit runs around 95M Cr; a fully engineered defensive-hauler version climbs past 110M once the shields, boosters and reinforcement are added.
The catch is access, not credits. Large-pad-only docking bars it from outposts and many planetary ports, and because it re-roles poorly beyond hold-based work, the money spent engineering it only ever buys a better hauler — not a better all-rounder.
A hauler first
If the plan is genuinely mixed careers, the ~72M Cr is better spent on an Anaconda or a medium Asp Explorer. Choose the Type-9 when the hold is the point and hauling is the job; treat every other role as an occasional bonus.
06
3-State Loadout
A balanced defensive-hauler fit — the biggest non-Cutter hold, a survivable shield, self-defence guns and mass-managed range, ready to re-tune for whatever job the week demands. Initial is buy-only; A-rated is the all-round baseline; Engineered hardens the cores, shields and hull so the barge can take a hit and still reach market. Re-role by swapping the optional internals: fill with cargo racks to haul, drop in a passenger cabin, or add mining tools and a refinery for ore.
Main gun; a gimballed multi-cannon is the easy self-defence pick, Overcharged with the one Corrosive Shell to strip armour resistance for the whole battery.
Bi-weave shield in the size-7 slot for fast regen under fire; Reinforced maximises its MJ and Hi-Cap adds more — the survivable all-round choice for a soft hull.
Copies the raw Ship Loadout Export Format for that state.
A barge, not a warship
The Type-9's identity is volume, not violence. The five guns are self-defence — enough to make a lone pirate think twice, never enough to win a fight. Build the ship to survive the interdiction and jump away with a full hold: shields, boosters, cells and reinforcement first, then re-tune the optionals for the task.
07
Initial Loadout — Buy-Only Plan
Buy the hull (~72M Cr) and fit a shield generator in the size-7 slot, a shield booster and a hull reinforcement for a soft hull, then fill the two class-8 slots and a size-6 with cargo racks — it can start earning immediately. The hull ships with its stock Lightweight Alloy bulkhead, so spend nothing on armour yet.
Arm the two larger mediums with a gimballed 2F Multi-Cannon apiece to wave off casual pirates; leave the third medium and the two smalls empty until you commit to a role and can afford the full battery.
Keep the build generalist at first — don't fill every optional with cargo until you know whether your most-run job is trade, passengers or ore.
08
A-Rated Loadout — Upgrade Plan
A-rating priority for a defensive hauler — survivability and range first, since the Type-9 can neither fight nor flee:
1Shield Generator → 7C bi-weave — A soft 850 t hull lives or dies on its shield; the bi-weave regenerates fast enough to survive an interdiction. ~13M Cr
2FSD → 6A — The size-6 drive is the range bottleneck; A-rate it so laden cargo reaches market in fewer jumps. ~13M Cr
3Power Distributor → 6A — Feeds the guns and the boost you need to line up an escape jump. ~5M Cr
4Thrusters → 7A — Claws back what little agility a barge can have for docking and evasion. ~19M Cr
5Power Plant → 6A — Headroom for the guns, shield and cell bank together. ~5M Cr
Shields before guns
The Type-9 will never win a fight, so its A-rating budget goes to staying alive: shield, distributor and thrusters first, then range. Leave the bulkhead on Lightweight Alloy — Military-grade plating would tax the very jump range a heavy hauler cannot spare, and the bi-weave plus hull reinforcement carry the defence.
09
Engineering Plan
A survivability-and-range engineering pass for a soft, slow hauler. Pin blueprints for remote G1→G5 application; visit engineers in person for experimentals.
10
Key Stat Upgrades
Approximate progression across the three states (figures are representative, not exact rolls):
Engineering roughly triples the shield off a bi-weave and two Heavy-Duty boosters, adds ~30 m/s of boost and lifts the laden jump into the mid-20s LY — enough to make the barge survivable and to move a full hold in fewer hops. What no roll can fix is the ceiling: it stays slow, short-legged and lightly armed, a hauler with defences rather than a genuine all-rounder.
11
Key Activities & Where To Do Them
Getting started
Bulk trade runs. The Type-9's home ground — profitable commodity loops between large-pad stations, filling the two class-8 slots every trip.
Cargo mission stacking. A vast hold takes every delivery and source-and-return job on the board at once, so one run clears many missions.
Community-goal hauling. Fortification, famine relief and construction goals reward sheer tonnage — exactly what this hull delivers.
Advanced
Occasional laser mining. Swap cargo for a refinery and limpet controllers and it becomes a high-volume barge — see the mining dossier.
Passenger charters in a pinch. Drop cabins into the deep slots for economy-tourist runs, though dedicated liners do it better.
Wing logistics. Ride behind an escort so a soft, slow barge can haul safely through contested space.
Generic example systems
Any high-population region with large-pad stations and a strong commodity market suits it. Keep to secure systems or fly in a wing — the Type-9 cannot defend itself against a determined interdiction.
12
Field Notes — What Else To Know
Large-pad-only docking is a real planning constraint — check that both ends of a run have a large pad before you commit a full hold.
Never haul valuable cargo in open play without a shield and a submit-and-boost-away plan; the Type-9 loses a straight fight and cannot out-run an interdiction.
Lightweightlife support and sensors recover meaningful jump range with no practical downside.
Don't try to make it a warship or explorer; its strength is one thing — volume — and fighting the hull to be something else wastes both credits and materials.
Verdict
The Type-9 Heavy is a superb freighter forced into a role it was never built for. As a hauler it is near-peerless; as a multipurpose ship it is a compromise — slow, soft, lightly armed and short-legged, redeemed only by the biggest non-Cutter hold in the game. Buy it to carry cargo. For genuinely mixed careers, an Anaconda or Asp Explorer does the whole game far better.
13
Sources
Figures on this page are verified against the sources below.
EDSYAlternate outfitting planner used to cross-check slot layout and module sizing.edsy.org
Elite Dangerous (official)Frontier's official Type-9 Heavy ship page — manufacturer specs, feature overview, and the ship render used on this page.elitedangerous.com/.../type-9-heavy
E:D Black Box