Ostranauts starter ships
The ship is your home, mortgage, and biggest factor in difficulty. Here is what the community learned about each early option.
Four ways to leave the dock.
SEEK SHIP in character creation yields one or two options; the Volatile comes from a Poker Game life event; the Box Sled is Expert-tagged and unlocks after your first derelict dock.
Box Sled
Salvage tug (2079). OSR Low, mortgage 383,023. Unpressurized center deck; a challenge ship, not a newbie pick.
Lilliput
Service tug (2038). OSR Moderate, mortgage 910,636. Decent for new players, but carries a heavy mortgage and lacks N2 gear.
Testudo Dream
Passenger shuttle (2057). OSR Moderate, mortgage 862,808. Good expansion potential; the usual first-run recommendation.
Volatile
RCS racer (2067). Only from the Poker Game event; steal it or win it legally. Flashy, fast, and hard to get.
Used hulls worth knowing.
Not available in character creation, but common in the used-ship market.
CR-43
Freighter (2043). Reactor-powered hauler with bridge, quarters, kitchen, and engineering. Met later as a used ship.
Ibex
Survey ship (2062). Two cabins with bathrooms, dual nav consoles, wellness room. Roomy and comfortable.
Myna Mk. I
Courier (2051). Cabinless reactor ship; the old weapon housings became a bathroom.
Three numbers decide your first week.
Mortgage, life support, and size.
Mortgage
Paid at the end of every shift. Higher mortgage = faster debt spiral if your salvage loop is slow.
Life support
Ships without pre-installed life support are cheap: and deadly. Budget for O2/N2 and heaters.
Size vs fuel
Bigger hulls store more salvage but burn more fuel. Match capacity to your route, not your dreams.
Legal ownership is a broker purchase.
Flying a ship is not the same as owning it.
To legally own a ship, buy it from the Ship Broker in the Commercial District. The sale registers the hull to you in the OGSIO registry. Derelicts work the same way: dock, repair, then buy the hull from the broker's derelict listing, or the vessel is not really yours.
Identification is separate hardware. The ship needs a working XPDR transponder and antenna before stations treat it as your vessel; see the transponder guide for the antenna fault that stops this.
Rename your ship
Open the PDA, go to NAVLINK, then open the Nav Station and edit the VESSEL NAME field. Community threads also mention linking the PDA to the nav console through its right-click action before the rename screen appears.
One known bug (2025 report): renaming updates the transponder and broker kiosk, but the navigation screen can keep showing the old name. It looks cosmetic in most reports; a fresh game updates correctly, and modders have edited the stored nav station data as a workaround.
Stolen ships
There is no supported way to launder a stolen hull. Players spoof a transponder with another ship's registration to fly it, but the ship stays unregistered: it cannot be sold through normal channels, Barter Zone transactions can fail, and the nav screen keeps nagging about registration.
Common questions
Which starter ship is best?
Community consensus favours the Testudo Dream: moderate mortgage (862,808), good expansion potential, minimal repairs. The Lilliput is decent but carries a higher mortgage (910,636) and lacks N2 life-support gear. The Box Sled is tagged Expert and is a challenge ship, not a newbie pick.
How do I get more ships?
You start with one legally-owned ship from character creation, or the Volatile through the Poker Game life event. Expert-tagged ships like the Box Sled unlock only after you successfully dock with a derelict for the first time. Bigger hulls such as the CR-43, Ibex, and Myna show up as used ships later.
What should I check before buying a ship?
Life support installed (or budget to add it), mortgage size (it is paid every shift), and hull size versus fuel consumption. A bigger hull stores more but burns more fuel.
Can I sell a ship?
Yes: stripping and selling derelicts is the core economy. Repair valuable parts to 100% before selling where possible.
Is the CR-43 a starter ship?
No. The CR-43 is a Ryokka freighter from 2043, and it is not available in character creation. You meet it later as a used ship: reactor-powered, with a bridge, two quarters, a kitchen, a bathroom, engineering, and plenty of storage.
How do I register or own another ship?
Buy it from the Ship Broker in the Commercial District. The sale registers the hull to you in the OGSIO registry, and that is also how a derelict becomes yours: repair it, then buy the hull from the broker's derelict listing.
How do I rename my ship?
Open the PDA, go to NAVLINK, open the Nav Station, and edit the VESSEL NAME field. Some players link the PDA to the nav console through its right-click action first. A 2025 community report notes a bug where the navigation screen keeps the old name even after the transponder and broker kiosk update.
Can I keep a stolen ship?
You can fly one by spoofing the transponder with another ship's registration, but there is no supported way to launder it: the hull stays unregistered, cannot be sold normally, and station services like the Barter Zone can refuse it.