THE EARTH CARGO SERVICE (ECS)
The J-Class Cargo Freighter was first designed in 2102
The Earth Cargo Service is an interstellar merchant association first founded in 2097 through agreement by the primary Earth space merchant companies who by then had begun shipping cargo and passengers between Earth and Vulcan. In the early days of the Earth Cargo Service, there existed little regulation of space freighters and the organization came into conflict with the United Earth Space Probe Agency (UESPA) which sought to gain control over the ECS.
By 2122, after several accidents involving space freighters used by the ECS, a compromise was reached with the founding of the Earth Cargo Authority (ECA), headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The ECA certified Earth Cargo Service vessels as well as issued ship master's licenses (also known as master's tickets) to ship captains. However, due to the oftentimes years long transit between ports, ship captains were authorized to certify other members of their crew to fill all other shipboard positions as was deemed necessary for shipboard operations.
Space Merchant Certifications and Positions
With the founding of the United Earth government in 2134, all interstellar merchant activity came under the purview of the Ministry of Trade and Commerce which thereafter established formal certification requirements for all personnel serving on warp capable merchant vessels. While merchant captains could no longer grant shipboard qualifications, a certification system was enacted to recognize the isolated nature of most Earth Cargo Service vessels as well as an entire generation of "boomers" who oftentimes learned shipboard positions from a very young age and lived their lives on cargo ships traveling between planets on the interstellar trade routes.
Under the Space Merchant Act of 2134, all merchant ship officers were required to hold a Space Mariner Certification as well as either a Space Merchant Officer's or Warp Engineer's License. Ship's Captains were required to hold all three as well as a Warp Craft Pilot Certification.
Merchant qualification positions and appointment agencies
Under the Space Merchant Act of 2134, all merchant ship officers were required to hold a Space Mariner Certification as well as either a Space Merchant Officer's or Warp Engineer's License. Ship's Captains were required to hold all three as well as a Warp Craft Pilot Certification.
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Since most merchant vessels did not have the ability to train personnel at the fixed training facilities of UESPA, a system was developed to apply for licenses based on equivalent shipboard training as well as a system of correspondence courses. Unlicensed personnel serving on merchant ships, as well as failing to deliver cargo in accordance with ECA schedules, were grounds for a merchant vessel to lose its shipping license.
In March 2136, the Earth Starfleet formally began offering commissions to Earth Cargo Service personnel, as part of a larger effort to expand and enlarge the new Starfleet organization. Officer commissions were authorized for any ECS ship's officer, medical officer, or an Earth Cargo Service warp pilot holding a Warp Craft Pilot Certification.