Design me a blue water tanker/cargo ship

[Saurok]

So I have AToW campaign going on (post-Jihad), and I need to design a tanker/cargo ship. I have TacOps and I plan
to try come up something by my own, but I would like to hear suggestions and alternative designs.

Only real requirement is that this craft is designed for civilian use and it can operate with as small crew
as possible and is capable to carry around lance of mechs or 200 tons of cargo.


I'll post my own design as soon as I have time to design one.


Thanks!

[Moonsword]

Are you looking for a lance-level transport able to deliver the lance ready for combat with suitable refits (600 tons of capacity) or something able to move a medium lance as cargo (220 tons at most)?

[Saurok]

Are you looking for a lance-level transport able to deliver the lance ready for combat with suitable refits (600 tons of capacity) or something able to move a medium lance as cargo (220 tons at most)?

600 tons would be optimal. Also this is civilian transport, so no weapons.

[Moonsword]

I would note that this is perhaps a river transport or something from a much less densely populated world.  To take a historical example, the Liberty ships had a capacity of over 10,000 tons including fuel and cargo.  Modern bulk transports are much larger.  Keep in mind that warships are frequently much smaller than merchant hulls.  Cargo DropShips are, on average, quite small compared to the capacity of modern merchantmen.

Also, when talking tanks, are you talking 600 tons of tank capacity (659.5 tons of tanks) or 600 tons of liquid storage tanks (546 tons of capacity)?  Someone building to a common hull design would probably opt for the latter.  Someone looking to move specified capacity may be more interested in the former.

Any ideas you're willing to share on general technological background to guide some of the other choices?

[Saurok]

True.

Ship is mostly shipping materials and supplies for local miners between two large continents.
I'll print out a advanced support vehicle sheet today and try come up with design.

[Moonsword]

With support vehicles, don't start with the sheet.  Start with notebook paper and a calculator.  I'm just trying to figure out what it is you're after here.  Given the background... TR C sounds about right, probably ICE for an engine.  I'll poke around a bit and see what I come up with.

[Saurok]

With support vehicles, don't start with the sheet.  Start with notebook paper and a calculator.  I'm just trying to figure out what it is you're after here.  Given the background... TR C sounds about right, probably ICE for an engine.  I'll poke around a bit and see what I come up with.

Yeah.

ICE engine will add some more bookkeeping to the campaign, but using fusion for engine would be out of place for such craft.
This vehicle will be taking several hexes in hex-scale, but I assume that basic naval record sheet will do...

[Moonsword]

This is almost certainly a template B vessel (500.5 to 6000 tons total), so two hexes will do it.

Taking a 1200 ton hull as a starting point, I get 235 tons for structure and 281 tons for the engine.  Once you account for fuel (I assumed 5500 km, approximately the distance from New York to the Canary Islands, for lack of any other figures), you're under 600 tons left for cargo tonnage before putting in crew quarters or any necessary equipment (lift hoists, for example).  I'll keep poking at the hull size.

EDIT: Further tinkering got this.  I might go up to a 1600 ton hull to increase size for extra men to stand watches and support loading/unloading operations personally.  You could strip it down a bit, maybe 1450 tons after removing the extra cargo (crew, shipboard supplies, speculative cargos, places to put quarters for a couple of passengers, etc.), or you could reduce the necessary operating radius from my 5500 km assumption, but it should be a decent starting point.

Type: Light Long-Haul Cargo Vessel
Chassis Type: Naval (Large, Template B)
Mass: 1,500 tons
Equipment Rating: C/C-D-C
Battle Value: Not calculated yet
Cost: 2,686,452 C-Bills

Equipment
Chassis/Controls: 293.5 tons
Engine/Trans: 3/5 ICE power plant, 351 tons
Fuel: 193.5 tons petroleum or equivalent, 5,512.8 km operating radius
Armor Factor (BAR 5): 15 front/12 forward sides/12 rear sides/12 rear, 75 points total, 3 tons

Weapons and Ammo
None

Cargo
Bay 1: 600 tons, 2 doors
Bay 2: 42 tons, 1 door

Crew: 4 enlisted, 1 officer (10 tons)
Notes: Features 1 ton of communications equipment and two lift hoists (6 tons)

[truetanker]

This is very nice, I was poking around looking for similar designs other than canon. Hey Moosword? Can you tell me what else you have in the way of this? I am looking for a lightly armed version of this ship with 20 tons worth of weapons. Mostly .30 cal ( .25 LMG ) and .50 cal ( .5 MG ) ammo, Rocket launchers and maybe a Rifle, any choice and ammo for all. Side mounted, turreted for the Rifle. It can come out of the cargo. The LMGs are quad mounted while the MGs are twin mounts and hotbunking is the normal procedure.

Saurok, hope you don't mind a little threadjack in progress? Pretty sure you could use one like this in your campaign?

Thanks,
TT

[Moonsword]

I don't have anything else like that worked out.  The real complication there is the addition of (I believe) four gunners, so you're looking at maybe 40 tons removed from cargo assuming you use steerage quarters for the crew.

[Saurok]

Saurok, hope you don't mind a little threadjack in progress? Pretty sure you could use one like this in your campaign?

Thanks,
TT

Not at all :)

I was planning to do some thinking with lightly armed version as well, but that armor rating is not really made for heavy... any fire fight. I would personally
use LRM5's instead of close range weaponry.

[truetanker]

I'd normally would use them, but I having my AU Pocketverse to think about.

RLs, LMG ( .30cal .25t ), MG ( .50cal .50t ) Rifles: Lt, Md and Hvy, Vehicle Flamers, Heavy RL ( SRM(OS)s ), Chemical lasers. Basic 80's weapons, the AC/5 and AC/10 are used in a traditional ultra-heavy Rifle style. While I might allow them some 3025 era lasers, they won't get it yet. they are still recovering.

In 3060, my AU Clan, Iron Dolphin arrives, bringing them some technology for ore ( the 3025 era lasers and such ). The other clans move in, see my sigbar. And well later around 3099 my other secret is revealed. You have to read to find out.

Again, mostly primitive and low end Industrial mechs with limited weapons. 210 Fusion rating or less, DuraCell FC batteries are the newest energy source while the robust alcohol guzzling ICE belches on.

TT

[Moonsword]

I was planning to do some thinking with lightly armed version as well, but that armor rating is not really made for heavy... any fire fight. I would personally
use LRM5's instead of close range weaponry.

That armor rating is intended to provide some light protection against minor collisions and accidents, not combat damage.  It's a little less than half the armor limit on a 1500 ton hull (164 points) and you can go up to BAR 6 in TR D without needing an armored chassis.  There's also 31 points of internal structure in each location.  You really don't want to be soaking hits that way but the vessel is somewhat hardier than it looks.

[Khymerion]

Overshot the requirement of a small blue water freighter but it turned out to be a 'relatively' cheap freighter that might find work as a supplementary ship for the relatively short legged light merchantman.  While the end result can't match a historical liberty ship, the ultimate in tramp freighter design, in carry capacity; she still makes for a faster light freighter than her inspiration for carrying bulk across heavily industrialized worlds on core worlds during the height of the Star League and to be an alternative to the twice as big Anaskaska Maru class freighters.

The design do carry an armament in the form of a pair of old 50mm autocannon, one on the forecastle and one on the stern, and a quad of MG to protect the wheelhouse.  They are more there to keep light pirates and VTOLs at bay than to be any actual threat.  The armor, much like the weapons, is meant to keep the ship moderately safe against any incidents.  The crew requirement is high but this was so that the ship's crew can operate in shifts and considering the time it might spend at sea, the extra hands could be desired.

Name:  Blue Water Freighter Type C-1
Chassis Type:  Naval Vessel, Large (Template D)
Tonnage:  14,245 tons
Equipment Rating:   D

Chassis/Controls:                                            2422 tons
Engines:             ICE  (Gas Turbine)                 1538 tons
     Cruise:   2
     Flank:     3
Fuel:                  12,000 km                               1849 tons
Turret:                                                                     2 tons
Armor:       BAR: 7      540 pts                             24.3 tons
           Front               67
           Front Sides     67/67
           Rear Sides      67
           Rear                67
           Turrets            69/69

Weapons
AC-5                          Front Turret                          8 tons
AC-5                          Rear Turret                           8 tons
AC-5 Ammo  (60)       Front                                     3 tons
AC-5 Ammo  (60)       Rear                                      3 tons
MG                            Front Right                            .5 tons
MG                            Front Left                              .5 tons
MG                            Rear Right                             .5 tons
MG                            Rear Left                               .5 tons
MG ammo (400)        Body                                      2 tons
Advanced Fire Control  (Star League Legacy)         2 tons

Crew:    21 Enlisted, 6 Gunners, 5 Officers
Passengers:     28 steerage class passengers

Cargo:   8,262 tons   4 Bay doors (2 Right, 2 Left)

Additional Equipment:   4 Lift Hoists (2 Right, 2 Left),  6 Maritime life boats, 1 ton of communications equipment, 4 spotlights

Cost: 16,982,580

Perhaps a bit of fine tunning to the C-1 would be needed to get it closer to what is desired but while falling short of the 10,800 tons of cargo a liberty ship carried, she is capable of moving at a flank speed almost 50% faster than her inspiration while almost hauling as much weight as the Anaskaska Maru class freighter at 50% additional range, a ship twice her size (though the Anaskaska Maru can make a better speed than the C-1).  Not bad honestly for a 'light' freighter.

A tanker mod shouldn't be too hard to manage if needed.

[Moonsword]

It's not hard to do on the designer's end.  You just need to multiply the amount of cargo space you're pulling out by (I believe) .91 to get the liquid tankage and then account for the cost change.  (Normal cargo is free, tanks aren't.)  TechManual has the relevant figures.

[Psyckosama]

Overshot the requirement of a small blue water freighter but it turned out to be a 'relatively' cheap freighter that might find work as a supplementary ship for the relatively short legged light merchantman.  While the end result can't match a historical liberty ship, the ultimate in tramp freighter design, in carry capacity; she still makes for a faster light freighter than her inspiration for carrying bulk across heavily industrialized worlds on core worlds during the height of the Star League and to be an alternative to the twice as big Anaskaska Maru class freighters.

Actually it can if you're willing to forgo speed. Remember the rules for carrying cargo mounted OUTSIDE  the hull (Total Warfare P: 261.);)

It can carry 36753 that way... cuts down the speed to half but it can carry a whole lot.

Also, add a paramedics equipment to sub in for a rudimentary sickbay (or a MASH if you want a full sickbay) and a field kitchen so they can... you know... eat...

might up the comms equiptment too.

[Khymerion]

How did I miss the MASH unit...   while the Anastaska Maro doesn't include the field kitchen and she is a much larger boat.

Those are real fast add ons honestly...  deducting 6.5 tons of the cargo space should cover that... though I had kind of envisioned the kind of medical care that is depicted on most movies that are on freighters, a kitchen table and a first aid kit in the skilled hands of a fellow sailor and not the full operating theater of a MASH unit.

Yeah, I know, primitive but it is a private merchantman.

But definitely a field kitchen... no one wants to eat low quality food for a long time.

[Jackmc]

It's worth pointing out that the mobile structure rules were specifically designed for vessels such as ocean going frieghters.

-Jackmc

[Moonsword]

It's worth pointing out that the mobile structure rules were specifically designed for vessels such as ocean going frieghters.

-Jackmc

They're really designed for superfreighters, much larger than anything under discussion here.

[Saurok]

I was unable to design my own ship in time for our gaming session, so I went with our designs (both).

Many thanks :)