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| - The Merchant Navy of the Empire of Barrayar is the fleet of Barrayar civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the Empire of Barrayar. The merchant navy is therefore responsible for transporting cargo and passengers during peacetime. In time of war, the Merchant Navy is as a whole requested to operate as an auxiliary to the Imperial Service, and can be called upon to deliver military personnel and materials for the military. The Merchant Navy itself is not a military organization, nor is it an auxiliary to the Imperial Service during peacetime, and merchants themselves are not military personnel. The ships are owned by various shipping companies, mostly Komarran one
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| abstract
| - The Merchant Navy of the Empire of Barrayar is the fleet of Barrayar civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the Empire of Barrayar. The merchant navy is therefore responsible for transporting cargo and passengers during peacetime. In time of war, the Merchant Navy is as a whole requested to operate as an auxiliary to the Imperial Service, and can be called upon to deliver military personnel and materials for the military. The Merchant Navy itself is not a military organization, nor is it an auxiliary to the Imperial Service during peacetime, and merchants themselves are not military personnel. The ships are owned by various shipping companies, mostly Komarran ones. Most of the shipping operations in the Barrayaran Empire are run as a family business, especially on Komarr, with family members located in key ports or in key positions, and with marriages cementing relationships between commercial dynasties. These close-knit families have allowed financially sensitive information to be kept within the Barrayaran-Komarran business community, with many transactions kept within trusted family networks. The merchant navy complex of Barrayar includes also construction industries, both of Komarran and Barrayaran origins. However, albeit there are several Barrayaran corporation of significant size, the large majority of this economic sector is based on Komarr. The whole set of the Merchant Navy moves cargo and passengers between planets and within the Empire, operates and maintains long-range cargo ships, freighters and support craft, ferries, excursion vessels, and other spacecraft. Being a conglomerate of numerous civilian corporations, the places of origin of spacecrafts vary widely; the large part of the spacecrafts operated by merchants from the Empire is built within the Imperial borders, but Illyrican, Betan or other planets ships are not uncommon in the merchant fleets and convoys. The Government of the Empire of Barrayar maintains fleets of merchant ships via organizations such as the Military Defence Reserve Fleet and the Imperial Merchant Fleet; the Government employs approximately 5% of all Barrayaran merchant transportation workers. Legally, activities relating to merchant shipping in the Empire of Barrayar are regulated by the Code of navigation. Structurally, the Navigation Code is divided into preliminary provisions and three parts, specifically: navigation, criminal and disciplinary provisions and transitional and complementary provisions. The Merchant Navy of Barrayar is overseen by the Ministry of Public Works, Posts and Communications and, for what regards the escort to convoys, by the Imperial Service. In order to lawfully carry out trade, a merchant (both independent trader or powerful corporation) must obtain an Imperial Merchant Charter from the Department of Transportations, which allows it to operate. Not all Merchant Licenses offer the same terms, as some offer more powers and more trade concessions to particularly favoured concessionaires. Former military officers with extensive space-borne experience (such as former starship commanders, first officers, chief engineers, etc.) are permitted to apply directly for a senior officer license without holding a lower prerequisite license.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)