Freelance Traveller - In A Store Near You - The Showroom

Lisse-class Cargo Submarine

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the August 2011 issue of Freelance Traveller.

The Lisse-class cargo submarine is a standard design from Enrii’s Maritime Industries LIC of Keplo/Core, and is named after the manager’s daughter. Cargo submarines find widespread use on water worlds, or worlds with extreme environmental conditions that make grav vehicles impractical. With a top speed of 100kph and a dive depth of 300m, the Lisse can avoid surface weather conditions and deliver its cargo to underwater cities and other facilities common on worlds with TL9 or higher.

The Lisse is actually a stripped down version of the Riptide attack submarine. Enrii’s Maritime Industries realized that the demand for the Riptide was not sufficient to keep their yards busy, so they modified the design into a cargo sub. The weapons, advanced sensors and redundant comms were stripped out, the hull material thickness reduced, and the top speed reduced (with associated reductions in power plant size). The freed up space was filled with cargo holds.

The reduced crew requirements meant that large staterooms could be provided for all crew members. It should be noted that with a smaller crew, the Lisse is no longer mandated to carry a medic, and the steward is often cross-trained in first aid.

The new cargo holds occupies the front half of the submarine (along with bow mounted sensors and the forward airlock. Aft of the small conning tower (containing the mid-ships airlock, periscopes and radio and sensor masts) are the crew quarters, fuel, engineering, and the control systems.

Care has to be taken to balance the weight of the forward cargo, and any empty spaces in the holds filled with water filled ballast sacks to maintain the correct buoyancy.

Craft ID:  Lisse Cargo Submarine, TL11, MCr43.9481
Hull:      270/675, Disp=300, Config=Submarine, Armor=20E,
           SurfaceUnloaded=2563tons, SurfaceLoaded=3941tons,
           SubmergedLoaded (Max)=4141tons
Power:     1/2, Fusion = 84Mw, Duration = 90/270, Consumes 0.042Kliters/hr
Loco:      1/2, Standard Anti-Grav Thrusters, Thrust=475tn,
           SurfaceSpeed=74kph, SubmergedSpeed=100kph,
           MaxAccel=20kph, MaxDecel=40kph, MaxDirChange=180deg,
           MaxDive=300m
Commo:     Regional Range Laser Communicator, Regional Range Radio,
           radio mast.
Sensors:   Very Distant  AEMS, Very Distant Active Sonar,
           Very Distant Passive Sonar, night periscope, day periscope,
           sensor mast.
           ActObjScan: Diff; ActObjPin: Diff; PasEngScan: Form
Off/Def:   None.
Control:   Computer Mod5 x 2, Panel=Dynamic Linked x 36,
           Environ=basic env, basic life-support, extended life-support,
           airlocks x 3
Accomm:    Crew=33 (Bridge=8, Deck=7, Sensors=3, Engineering=14, Stewards x 1),
           Stateroom=Large x 33.
Other:     Fuel (hydrogen)=90.7kl, Extended Duration Food & Water Supplies=5.9kl,
           Cargo=1366kl, Lead Ballast=420kl, Ballast Tanks=200kl, 
           3 x 100kl/h pumps (for ballast tanks), Spare CP=0.39, Spare MW=18.9,
           ObjSize=Avg, EM Level=Faint.