Ship Identification Guide

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In order to provide clarity for all ships operating with Terran Alliance space the Terran Alliance Navy has issued a definitive set of guidelines that all ships, commercial and civilian, must adhere to. The guidelines are presented in this document.


Ship Prefixes:

Military Ships

  • FPC - Federal Police Cruiser - While not technically military, the police forces are sometimes called upon to act as Coast Guard. The standard ships are white and blue. The ships of the Helion Unit are black with white trim.
  • TAS - Terran Alliance Ship - Typically found with a white paint coat and blue trim. (Special units may be the opposite).


Commercial or scientific ships

  • These ships denote ship type, but not necessarily class. A ship type is generally multiple ship classes.
  • These ships don't have a set color scheme. They are typically painted up in the colors of the company or government that owns them.
  • CPV - Construction Platform Vessel - a large mobile dockyard used for building massive ships and stations.
  • DSEV - Deep Space Exploration Vessel - long range survey craft.
  • EAS - Exodus Ark Ship - Technically commercial government contract. These ships are neutral grey.
  • FTS - Fleet Tender Ship - mobile repair and resupply vessels for commercial and privately owned ships.
  • MSV - Mapping and Survey Vessel - These ships work with the DSEV to map planetary surfaces and find potential new colonies.
  • PPY - Personal Pleasure Yacht - smaller civilian craft.
  • RV - Research Vessel - Different from the larger Terran Research Ship in that these craft are small, in-system craft used for localized experiments. Typically operated by universities and learning institutions.
  • SARV - Search and Rescue Vessel - Finds and rescues lost and missing ships and passengers.
  • SB - Space Barge - used for dumping trash into the star.
  • SSV - Stellar Supply Vessel - used to ferry goods and consumables to ships.
  • TUV - Tug Utility Vehichle - A multi-purpose ship used for large construction jobs and moving broken ships around the dock.
  • TCC - Terran Cargo Carrier - A medium sized ship that transports cargo commercially.
  • TCH - Terran Cargo Hauler - A large, heavy ship used to move a lot of freight.
  • TCL - Terran Cargo Light - A small ship used to carry light cargo loads, typically used by courier and delivery services.
  • TCS - Terran Colony Ship - A ship of various sizes and classes who's primary function is the establishment of new colonies.
  • TMV - Terran Mining Vessel - A ship designated for mining operations.
  • TPF - Terran Passenger Ferry - A ship used to transport passengers between planets and star systems.
  • TRS - Terran Research Ship - A ship used for scientific research purposes only. Typically Orange and white.
  • TSS - Terran Scout Ship - Although the term "scout" evokes a military connection, this is essentially a small, fast ship used for space exploration and is not a military ship.
  • TEV - Terran Escort Vessel - A vessel that is designated for private security purposes.



Ship ID Numbers:

Military Ships

  • These are identified with the "hull number" of their respective navies. For example: CRS-417 would be a Cruiser. CRV-819 would be a Corvette, etc.

Ark Ships

  • Although technically Civilian ships, they follow a special protocol. All Ark ships have a "hull number" that is prefixed with EAN, which stands for "Exodus Ark Number".

Civilian Ships

  • Civilian ships follow this protocol:TCC-RFA-0413
  • The first set of letters is the type of ship category from above. In this case, TCC is a Terran Cargo Carrier.
  • The next set of letters indicates the company that operates the vessel. RFA is Rasmussen Family & Associates. Ships that are Privately Owned by an individual are listed as POV (Privately Owned Vessel).
  • The last set of numbers is the actual registration ID number of the ship. In the example above, this ship is the 413th TCC ship registered by RFA.