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How to buy, rent and claim ships

Learn where to buy or rent ships and components with aUEC, and how insurance claims work when your ship is destroyed.

Once you have some aUEC saved, the next step is a better ship or better parts for the one you have. You can buy ships outright, rent them for a few days, or upgrade the components inside your current ship.

Where to buy ships

Ships are sold for aUEC at ship dealers in the major cities and a few stations:

  • Astro Armada in Area18 (ArcCorp)
  • New Deal in Lorville (Hurston)
  • Crusader Industries Showroom in Orison (Crusader)
  • Teach's Ship Shop in Levski (Nyx system), which also sells components and rents ships
  • Buy & Fly at Ruin Station (Pyro system)

Ships you buy with aUEC are fully yours to modify, paint and fly. Dealers do not all sell the same ships, so check what is in stock before you travel. In patch 4.10 the Aurora Mk II replaced the original Aurora in shops, and the Drake Golem OX is sold at Pyro dealerships and New Deal.

aUEC and the ships you buy with it can be wiped during the game's testing phase. Wipes are usually announced in advance. Patch 4.10.2 kept everyone's progress.

Try before you buy: renting

Rental agencies, such as Traveler Rentals in Orison, let you rent ships and vehicles for aUEC. Prices change by location. Rentals are a cheap way to test a ship or take on a job your own ship cannot do.

  • Rentals last a set number of days, and the timer keeps running while you are logged out.
  • Longer rentals cost less per day.
  • Every rental comes with its default equipment and full insurance for the rental period.
  • You can carry cargo and personal gear, but you cannot change a rental's weapons or components.

During RSI Discovery Month (until October 20, 2026), completing the Rental Offer contract gives you five days of free rental access to the Constellation Mk V Centaurus and the RSI Skylark.

Upgrading components and weapons

Components (power plants, shields, coolers and quantum drives) and ship weapons are sold at item shops. Dumper's Depot in Area18 and at many orbital stations sells components for most ship sizes. Omega Pro in New Babbage stocks high-end components. Apocalypse Arms in Area18 specializes in ship weapons.

  1. Plan your loadout first, so you know which sizes and slots your ship has.
  2. Buy the parts at a shop at the station or city where your ship is stored.
  3. Use the ship terminal (ASOP terminal) to customize the ship and fit the new parts.
  4. Retrieve the ship and take a short test flight before heading into danger.

Insurance: how claims work

Every ship is covered by insurance. Since patch 4.3 all ships count as having permanent insurance that covers the hull and its components. If your ship is destroyed, you do not lose it for good.

  1. Go to any ship terminal (ASOP terminal).
  2. Select your destroyed ship and choose Claim.
  3. A timer starts. The terminal shows the estimated delivery time.
  4. Pay the expedite fee if you want it faster, or wait for the timer.
  5. When the timer ends, retrieve the ship as normal.

Patch 4.10 changed claim costs and timers:

  • Claim timers now scale with the ship's value. Light fighters come back quickly, while big ships take longer.
  • Weapons now have their own prices, so a ship with lots of weapons costs more to claim.
  • Claiming the same ship again no longer gets more expensive each time.
  • Missile and torpedo prices went up, so replacing ordnance costs more.

Filing a claim removes your ship from the world. Anything inside it, including cargo and mined ore, is lost. Cargo you hauled since patch 4.10 now persists between patches, but it is not protected by insurance.

Storing and fines

  • Store your ship at a ship terminal when you are done with it. This keeps the ship and what is inside it.
  • If you leave a ship parked on a pad, you may get a parking fine. You have to pay it before you can retrieve the ship.
  • Abandoned vehicles at some stations now expire on a timer, so do not leave ships lying around.