Ship tender

From Traveller Wiki - Science-Fiction Adventure in the Far future

A Ship tender is a class of ships designed to repair ships. Equipped with large workshops, advanced tech labs for calibration, extensive multiple tool sets of every sort required to maintain and repair damaged ships, they can very nearly be called floating shipyards, and can install or perform major repairs in the field, given time and components. These tend to be lightly armored, minimally gunned, and only of sufficient maneuverability to keep up with the fleet- everything else is given over to the main mission of attending to the needs of damaged ships. If provided with ample supplies from supply ships or prepositioned caches, they can keep a fleet operating for years without putting into port if need be.

This is not the most cost effective way to maintain a fleet, and in more stable times yards are used, but they are essential in the field in time of war. In peacetime some are also used as service ships for automated navigational aids, and a standing cadre of them is assigned to the scout corp to maintain and operate the X-boat network.

These ships are also referred to as Fleet Tenders, from older naval practices. There are also ships in another class which are called fleet tenders; these are more properly titled battlerider carriers. These are designed to carry non jump capable large craft between the stars, and release them within a theater of operation to support fleet actions.