This is yet another openly speculative thread about Imperial traffic. Lots of the same thoughts are present in older threads. I'm still working out implications and formulating hypotheses, and retracing my steps.
Long-Haul Routes
Every time a megacorporation or megacorporate starship is mentioned in Merchant Prince and The Traveller Adventure, it seems to be in the context of long-haul transport and shipping through the Imperium, terminally connecting two distant and important worlds -- for example, Vland-Rhylanor -- in a chain of jumps made by a transport.
These routes, referred to as major trade routes in the Imperium, Long-Haul, Long-Distance, and main route, appear to use the Sector Routes as their stepstones from one major Imperial world to the other. Their overarching purpose or priority appears to be linked to the terminal worlds, more than any shipping the ships may do in between.
Megacorps own these routes (Makhidkarun, Naasirka...), using 1,000 to 100,000 ton transports and freighters rated Jump-4 or better, accompanied by escorts (also rated Jump-4 or better).
Sector Routes
Sector Routes are called Major Trade Routes, and are differentiated from Subsector Major Trade Routes by context. They appear to be identical to the segments of the XBoat Route which fall within a sector. Sector routes are said to link up the major worlds of a sector.
Sector-wide lines like Al Morai use these routes, with 1,000 to 5,000 ton transports and freighters rated Jump-4, and accompanied by escorts rated Jump-4. Some sector-wide lines could be subsidiaries of megacorporations.
Subsector Routes
Subsector Routes are called Major Trade Routes, but only when speaking in the context of subsectors and subsector lines. These routes are generally feeders to the Sector Routes. Any local, lucrative route also qualifies as a Subsector Route, including segments of the XBoat Route which are close to and within the subsector, and routes of the sort Akerut had set up in Aramis subsector with its 5,000t J-1 Hercules-class ships.
Subsector lines (such as Oberlindes Lines and Sinzarmes), and a large number of fledgling lines, use these routes. Some subsector lines are subsidiaries of sector-wide lines and megacorporations. Freighters and liners are often armed, displace up to 5,000 tons, and are rated Jump-1 through Jump-3. Patrol Cruisers serve as escorts or route protectors.
Interface Routes
Interface Routes appear to connect many worlds within a subsector to other worlds across a territory boundary. These routes may range from 1 to 100 hexes long, though, so I expect Interface Lines to be operating from all worlds which have interesting trade codes (Cp In Ag etc).
Interface Lines use these routes (such as Baraccai Technum and McClellan Factors). Other lines can also use these routes (Oberlindes Lines). Interface lines may be subsidiaries of other lines. Freighters and liners displace up to 5,000 tons, and are rated Jump-1 through Jump-3. Ships are usually well-armed, and accompanied by escorts rated Jump-3 or better.
Service
Apparently, serving a sector only means serving the main routes -- i.e. the XBoat routes. That says something politically or economically, whichever you prefer for any given case.
Serving a subsector, similarly, means serving feeder routes and the major worlds in a subsector.
The value of a route is in contracts from the Imperial Navy and Important worlds.
Al Morai
Al Morai is a "sector-wide corporation".
After squinting at Spinward Marches Campaign, it seems that Al Morai owns exactly 57 ships: 53 of their J4M1 3,000t Freighters, and four Route Protectors (Gazelles), for a total volume of 160,600 tons. I note that the freighters are essentially identical to the Type AT Freighter from The Traveller Adventure, and do seem to serve an identical purpose (main-route cargo carrier). 53 ships qualifies as a merchant "fleet".
The "main route" marked out for Al Morai happens to be most of the Marches' Xboat route. This also is in accordance with The Traveller Adventure.
Oberlindes Lines
"A mix of small surplus supply freighters and patrol cruisers, plus a decent number of kiloton freighters to boot."
Oberlindes Lines is a subsector corporation and an interface line, with trade in Regina, Aramis, Uthe, and Firgr (and perhaps beyond).
Some time between 1050 and 1105, Oberlindes Lines boasted over a hundred ships, including 10 ships of greater than 4000 tons (one of
which is the Emissary) and 30 ships in the 2,000-to-4,000 ton range.
Assume 130 ships around 1080:
By the FFW, Oberlindes had "hundreds" (more than 200) of ships, mostly navy surplus, including a set of new 1,000 ton cargo
carriers that aren't navy surplus.
Assume 300 ships around 1107:
It may be that 50% of Oberlindes' ships are primarily protection-oriented, especially due to trading in Vargr space.
Traffic
In Marc's general terms, a busy and bustling port will see 10,000 to 25,000 passengers arriving, and a similar number departing, per week, and 1,000 ships arriving and 1,000 ships departing per week, plus a few thousand ships sitting in berth (most of them in orbit, I suspect). Marc doesn't seem to count small starships in this number, but he does seem to think that the general number of small starships also arriving and departing is largely constant, irrespective of the world size. Thus the upperbound is going to be low, seemingly. I'm sure there are exceptions as needed.
Economics
If Al Morai can make money by running goods across non-optimized Jump-4 routes (i.e. the XBoat route), then the rules aren't telling all. Rumor is that corporations buy their cargo to ship, therefore follow something more like a speculative model (or shall I say a Merchant Prince model) than plain-jane freight. Likely, they make tens of thousands of credits on the ton. Just as likely is that XBoat traffic is high-value.
For that matter, if Oberlindes can make money by running goods around (and across) a subsector at Jump-3, then there are rules at work we know nothing of. Government, corporate, interface, and military contracts, perhaps.
Long-Haul Routes
Every time a megacorporation or megacorporate starship is mentioned in Merchant Prince and The Traveller Adventure, it seems to be in the context of long-haul transport and shipping through the Imperium, terminally connecting two distant and important worlds -- for example, Vland-Rhylanor -- in a chain of jumps made by a transport.
These routes, referred to as major trade routes in the Imperium, Long-Haul, Long-Distance, and main route, appear to use the Sector Routes as their stepstones from one major Imperial world to the other. Their overarching purpose or priority appears to be linked to the terminal worlds, more than any shipping the ships may do in between.
Megacorps own these routes (Makhidkarun, Naasirka...), using 1,000 to 100,000 ton transports and freighters rated Jump-4 or better, accompanied by escorts (also rated Jump-4 or better).
Sector Routes
Sector Routes are called Major Trade Routes, and are differentiated from Subsector Major Trade Routes by context. They appear to be identical to the segments of the XBoat Route which fall within a sector. Sector routes are said to link up the major worlds of a sector.
Sector-wide lines like Al Morai use these routes, with 1,000 to 5,000 ton transports and freighters rated Jump-4, and accompanied by escorts rated Jump-4. Some sector-wide lines could be subsidiaries of megacorporations.
Subsector Routes
Subsector Routes are called Major Trade Routes, but only when speaking in the context of subsectors and subsector lines. These routes are generally feeders to the Sector Routes. Any local, lucrative route also qualifies as a Subsector Route, including segments of the XBoat Route which are close to and within the subsector, and routes of the sort Akerut had set up in Aramis subsector with its 5,000t J-1 Hercules-class ships.
Subsector lines (such as Oberlindes Lines and Sinzarmes), and a large number of fledgling lines, use these routes. Some subsector lines are subsidiaries of sector-wide lines and megacorporations. Freighters and liners are often armed, displace up to 5,000 tons, and are rated Jump-1 through Jump-3. Patrol Cruisers serve as escorts or route protectors.
Interface Routes
Interface Routes appear to connect many worlds within a subsector to other worlds across a territory boundary. These routes may range from 1 to 100 hexes long, though, so I expect Interface Lines to be operating from all worlds which have interesting trade codes (Cp In Ag etc).
Interface Lines use these routes (such as Baraccai Technum and McClellan Factors). Other lines can also use these routes (Oberlindes Lines). Interface lines may be subsidiaries of other lines. Freighters and liners displace up to 5,000 tons, and are rated Jump-1 through Jump-3. Ships are usually well-armed, and accompanied by escorts rated Jump-3 or better.
Service
Apparently, serving a sector only means serving the main routes -- i.e. the XBoat routes. That says something politically or economically, whichever you prefer for any given case.
Serving a subsector, similarly, means serving feeder routes and the major worlds in a subsector.
G. Kashkanun Anderson said:
The value of a route is in contracts from the Imperial Navy and Important worlds.
Al Morai
Al Morai is a "sector-wide corporation".
After squinting at Spinward Marches Campaign, it seems that Al Morai owns exactly 57 ships: 53 of their J4M1 3,000t Freighters, and four Route Protectors (Gazelles), for a total volume of 160,600 tons. I note that the freighters are essentially identical to the Type AT Freighter from The Traveller Adventure, and do seem to serve an identical purpose (main-route cargo carrier). 53 ships qualifies as a merchant "fleet".
The "main route" marked out for Al Morai happens to be most of the Marches' Xboat route. This also is in accordance with The Traveller Adventure.
Oberlindes Lines
"A mix of small surplus supply freighters and patrol cruisers, plus a decent number of kiloton freighters to boot."
Oberlindes Lines is a subsector corporation and an interface line, with trade in Regina, Aramis, Uthe, and Firgr (and perhaps beyond).
Some time between 1050 and 1105, Oberlindes Lines boasted over a hundred ships, including 10 ships of greater than 4000 tons (one of
which is the Emissary) and 30 ships in the 2,000-to-4,000 ton range.
Assume 130 ships around 1080:
Code:
60,000t cruiser (1)
5,000t cargo transports (9)
4,000t freighters (10)
3,000t freighters (10)
2,000t freighters (10)
1,000t freighters (30)
Various 200t to 800t ships (60)By the FFW, Oberlindes had "hundreds" (more than 200) of ships, mostly navy surplus, including a set of new 1,000 ton cargo
carriers that aren't navy surplus.
Assume 300 ships around 1107:
Code:
60,000t cruisers (3)
5,000t cargo transports (17)
4,000t freighters (20)
3,000t freighters (20)
2,000t freighters (20)
1,000t freighters (60)
Various 200t to 800t ships (160)It may be that 50% of Oberlindes' ships are primarily protection-oriented, especially due to trading in Vargr space.
Traffic
In Marc's general terms, a busy and bustling port will see 10,000 to 25,000 passengers arriving, and a similar number departing, per week, and 1,000 ships arriving and 1,000 ships departing per week, plus a few thousand ships sitting in berth (most of them in orbit, I suspect). Marc doesn't seem to count small starships in this number, but he does seem to think that the general number of small starships also arriving and departing is largely constant, irrespective of the world size. Thus the upperbound is going to be low, seemingly. I'm sure there are exceptions as needed.
Economics
If Al Morai can make money by running goods across non-optimized Jump-4 routes (i.e. the XBoat route), then the rules aren't telling all. Rumor is that corporations buy their cargo to ship, therefore follow something more like a speculative model (or shall I say a Merchant Prince model) than plain-jane freight. Likely, they make tens of thousands of credits on the ton. Just as likely is that XBoat traffic is high-value.
For that matter, if Oberlindes can make money by running goods around (and across) a subsector at Jump-3, then there are rules at work we know nothing of. Government, corporate, interface, and military contracts, perhaps.
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