Auxiliary Ships as Traders

[Beauxy]

I'm seeing auxiliary ships with container space that is double the size of the largest freighters. Is there any downside to just using them as mass trade ships besides their speed?

[Kil0]

I dont think my Aux ships have 60K storage. Isnt it like 19k? Anyway the speed, the Requrement for XL Dock, turning rate, size and cost is the reason enough not to. However there is a button for it so you can i guess. Basically longer distance prioritze storage, shor distance go speed. Heron for storage, Buffalo for speed, Osaka for style.

[Beauxy]

Originally posted by Kil0:

I dont think my Aux ships have 60K storage. Isnt it like 19k? Anyway the speed, the Requrement for XL Dock, turning rate, size and cost is the reason enough not to. However there is a button for it so you can i guess. Basically longer distance prioritze storage, shor distance go speed. Heron for storage, Buffalo for speed, Osaka for style.

I must have a mod changing their storage because I have values at like 130k+ for some of them. Glad to see I wasn't crazy getting some Osakas though!

[The Big Brzezinski]

The only real advantage an auxiliary would have as a merchant ship is the ability to service its own escorts. It might be cool if they could act as mobile trade hubs using subordinate freighters, but the right behaviors for this don't seem to be in the game.

Fun fact; one TEU (twenty foot equivalent shipping container) holds about 33 cubic meters. An Incarcatua Sentinel can haul 54000 cubic meters of cargo. That means it's roughly a 1600 TEU freighter. That's actually not very big at all, less than a tenth of the largest modern container ships. On the other hand, an Incarcatua also cruises at 85 knots and travels at about 2800 knots. So it's probably okay that they're not that huge.

[Springwiesel87]

i use Nomad Defenders as Trade-Ships.... they may be expensive and Slow but not many enemies try to attack them... ö.ö

[greigy]

I have an aux ship assigned to every station as a trader. but also have a buffalo assigned. so volume and moderate speed used there.

Plus if you have escort fighters, they can repair on the aux