J-class starship

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In the fictional Star Trek universe, the J-class starship is a large cargo ship used by humans for transporting commercial freight.

[edit] Design

The ships are lightly armed, capable of low warp speeds and are similar to their larger counterpart, the Y-class. The inertial dampeners aboard J-class vessels are less advanced than most ships in Starfleet. When a J-class ship goes to warp, cargo must be tightly secured, and everyone onboard must grab a handhold or else risk losing their balance. The vessels are also lightly armed. ^[1]

Freighters of this type are often owned and crewed by a single family working for the Earth Cargo Authority, the notation ECS stands for Earth Cargo Ship.

[edit] Examples of the type

The Enterprise character Travis Mayweather grew up on such a starship, named "Horizon". ^[1]
Harry Mudd was using a J-class vessel (most likely stolen) but it was destroyed in the episode "Mudd's Women".
Another J-class vessel was used for training Starfleet cadets in the late 23rd century. While on board one such ship, Fleet Captain Christopher Pike rescued several cadets when the ship experienced a catastrophic radiation accident. Pike saved all the cadets' lives but was seriously injured in the process. ^[2]