Freighter Crews

[Bry_Sinclair]

Looking for suggestions as to positions/occupations that might be found on an independent civilian freighter with a crew of 20-ish. I have all the standard sort of roles:

• Captain
• First Mate
• Communications Operator
• Helmsman
• Navigator
• Chief Engineer
• Engineer's Mate (2 minimum)
• Medic
• Cargo Chief / Loadmaster / Quartermaster (whatever I decide to call it)
• Deckhand (however many might be needed to fill out the crew)

I could just fill the remaining posts with deckhands, but I'd like to have a bit of diversity, though in reality I'd think most of the crew would muck in and do whatever jobs needed doing throughout the ship.

Cheers.

 

[trynda1701]

An option might be Customs officer?

Yes, that might be handled between the Captain and the Cargo Chief, but perhaps a few ships might have someone who also specialises? Someone who knows all those oddball differences between standard Federation ports and those more out of the way places out on the frontier, or in independent space?

 

[Sgt_G]

Are you going to run 24/7 ops, or are you going to find a convenient planet to park in orbit every night while you sleep?

Let's say you're running 24/7. I would say you need two qualified pilots and two co-pilots, working 12-hour shifts (or split six-hour shifts). Together, they would handle helm, navigation, sensors, and communication, much like a modern day airliner flight crew does. For short periods of time, one can leave the flight deck for a meal/potty break. Keep in mind that the ship's Master and First Mate are probably qualified pilots.

I don't think you need a dedicated Comms officer. Three engineers sounds about right. For a larger ship, you could bump that to four or five, especially if it's an armed freighter.

I doubt you need a full-time medic, but you do need two or three people who have EMT training. Again, often the Master / First Mate will have this.

Not sure you'd need a dedicated Load Master. I would think the Master and/or Engineer would figure that stuff out. But, sure, a large enough ship might have a Load Master, too.

As to deck hands ... that's a tricky one ... a lot to consider. You need some to help out with routine maintenance, and for security while in port. But otherwise, too many deck hands is too many mouths to feed while just flying around in space.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

A customs expert (or some sort of accountant/bureaucrat/yeoman) might be a handy thing to have, keep on top of all the paperwork that would need to be filed and checks carried out--I'm thinking they'll be a freighter that spends most of its time outside (or at the very least on the outer fringes of) Federation space.

The ship would be running 24/7, as I suspect she would spend a lot of time in open space travelling from A to B. The comms operator I sort of envision pulling double duty as the resident computer specialist or electrician, definitely more of a techie than a linguist. Likewise the medic would also be a general deckhand, carrying out other tasks and duties on a regular day-to-day basis, but on a ship lacking all the mod cons then there will be workplace accidents so they'd be kept plenty busy at times.

 

[Jayson1]

I got a few suggestions.

How about something like a Forklift operator were they work something like the thing Ripley did in Aliens. Also you could have these crewman also operate machines that sort of go outside the ship and can be used to make repairs to the outer hull. Trek often forgets you sometimes got to fix damage on the outside and if your crew doesn't have access to spacedock or starbase then it makes sense you would bring along machinery that operates on the surface of the hull being operated by crewmen as they do the necessary repairs.

Also you need a cook for food. Also a accountant of sorts that handles alien currency. You could explore how money works in Star Trek. Basically someone who handles any physical cash you might need in dealing with aliens outside of Federation space that won't take Federation credit. On "Voyager" they would often offer trade but your ship might not have stuff of value to offer in trade or they can give away without hurting them.


Jason

 

[Sgt_G]

I figure fork-lift would fall under general deck hand. I forgot about a cook, but again, that's something that might rotate thru the general crew.

 

[Odon]

Try the website Atomic Rockets, especially the following links:
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/crew.php
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/otherdeck.php#id--Cargo_Hold
I found it useful for working out the nitty-gritty on my last fanfic.

 

[admiralelm11]

Bry, if I might make a suggestion in an attempt to be helpful. You could try researching the crew set-ups of ocean-bound crews. Maybe even the crews of Royal Navy vessels back in the time of the Napoleonic War or even the ships of the West Indies trade. I'm just thinking out-loud here.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Try the website Atomic Rockets, especially the following links:
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/crew.php
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/otherdeck.php#id--Cargo_Hold
I found it useful for working out the nitty-gritty on my last fanfic.

Bloody hell, there's a lot of information there!

Lots to think about, thank you

 

[Jayson1]

I was thinking you might also need a scientist or some scientists. I mean in space they are bound to experience some strange stuff that would need a experts help with. Even in Alien which is basically a big Truck had a scientist aboard though you don't have to make your scientist a killer android.

Jason

 

[Sgt_G]

Not seeing it. If you're just trucking back and forth thru known-space, there's little reason to have a dedicated science officer. Not to say someone in the crew won't be a geek.

 

[Jayson1]

Not seeing it. If you're just trucking back and forth thru known-space, there's little reason to have a dedicated science officer. Not to say someone in the crew won't be a geek.

Because you don't what kind of stuff you might be hauling. Anything alien means their is going to be unknown dangers. Plus passing comets and alien ships you might encounter. Might get a rescue call or any planet you go down to is going to have issues you might have to deal with even if you have been to that planet before. Maybe you have various spaitial anomolies in the area and they are always acting up. Even if your not exploring you just never know what you might encounter in space.

Granted you might not get some of the best and brightest because better scientist want to be where the action is thus the ones your hire are sort of second rate scientist but maybe you have have at least a couple on board for insurance reasons. Even though Starfleet doesn't have money I got to bet even civilian ships have tons of regulations and be up to code just to operate in Federation space.


Jason

 

[Imaus]

A Science Officer could also be a ad-hoc or temp position for some civilian from a scientific agency getting some time to fill out their resumes. What better than just to have the university pay (or however the arrangement is) the freighter company, especially if they're in a bit of 'wild' or 'unimportant' space that surveyors and explorers passed over with barely a second thought?

There could be some weird psuedo-cultural momentum for this, too. Maybe the UESPA and other agencies did the same thing with the ECS back in the day as StarFleet didn't go 'out there' until the NX class and then was bothered by the Romulan War, so scientific agencies took what they could get.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I'm kinda thinking the majority of the sciences would be covered by various positions already onboard, the navigator would know a thing or two about stellar cartography and have a passable knowledge of astrophysics, between them the engineering staff might cover applied physics, subspace mechanics, metallurgy, whilst the medic could have a working knowledge of biochemistry or xenobiology. There may be times they have a passenger onboard who is a scientist, but more often or not they'd have to muddle through with what they have to hand.

 

[Jayson1]

It's possible also that with subspace you can simply call a scientist and get their opinion on how to proceed with a issue. Or maybe the various ports and starbase's would have people who can come out on a runabout to offer support. Their might be times when the best things to do is basically stop the ship and and basically call tech support or this would be science support and ask how you should proceed. Plus when you Federation space you will fine other Federation ships including Starfleet always close to some degree. I mean it's like going on a highway. Lots of ship around though not that close as what you would get on a highway.


Jason

 

[Sgt_G]

I would hope that the ship's Master and/or First Mate have some basic science knowledge. Like someone said, space is dangerous, and you never know what you're going to run into. BUT! But, unless there's money to be made, a civilian freighter isn't going to waste time investigating every interesting anomaly they find.

Of course, there are exceptions. For example, if the ship is a prospector looking for ore deposits worth mining, it would make sense that there is a dedicated geologist / planetary scientist on board.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

Have you considered passengers? Granted, not crew members, but could add to possible story-lines. Many ocean-going freighters offer passage for people seeking a voyage with no-frills and lower cost.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I was thinking there would be the occasional passenger, some helpful others definitely a hindrance.

 

[fullfathomfive]

I am taking a break from lurking on this one. I spend a fair bit of my time driving through the port of Brisbane. Looking at the way cargo is handled and logistics is a passing interest for me.

Looking at the way we containerize cargo now, It would make sense to me that the Trek future would continue to do this. I can imagine ships that are basically designed to hold thousands of containers in racks in a hold, moving as much bulk as efficiently as possible between ports. Ships the basically become a hold with a spine on top, with nacelles, power plant, and living spaces on top. This raises the question of what size crew would be needed with automation and antigrav technology for loading and unloading.

Would ships like this deliver a complete colony in kit form? Vast quantities of military supplies? Could they be reconfigured as troop carriers in times of war? Are they essentially modular in the layout of their cargo hold? What story telling possibilities does this lend itself to?

john!

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I'm considering an Antares-Class (like the Xhosa), though not quite sure, so her size, volume and carrying capacity have yet to be set, though she probably can take quite a bit (if I am sticking with the crew of 20). The ship itself will be decades old, with a few modifications and upgrades along the way to comply with safety standards and keep the ship competitive when bidding for work, but the level of automation wouldn't be high. Antigravs would be used for moving and securing cargo, just as workbees would be used for loading it, with most probably being in containers stored in racks/berths (like we see on the Enterprise in TMP), though a few bays would be for less bulky or more specialist items, so would be for smaller containers, crates and barrels.

On a standard day, en route from Point A (collecting cargo) to Point B (delivering it) then the crew would have fairly routine, mundane tasks to see to, though once loading or off-loading then it would be pretty much all hands on deck, to get one load of cargo off and prepare for their next load--time is money after all. She may not be able to carry an entire prefab colony, but would at least be able to haul a fair amount. Not being a Starfleet vessel (also toying with the idea of not actually making her a Federation ship altogether) then she wouldn't be used as any sort of troop transport, more likely to go in and evacuate civilians and refugees trapped in the midst of the fighting.

Thinking that the cargo wouldn't really be of much importance to the story (one or two may have a plot around something they're carrying), as I was planning more to focus on the people and who they are and what brought them to the ship--as a single independently-owned ship, making just enough to keep the antimatter pods filled, operating outside Federation space, is either going to attract people with pasts they're running/hiding from or those that couldn't get hired by any bigger firms.

Currently working on who these people will be, won't be focusing on every single one, but will know who they all are and where they fit it onboard.