Deep Space Transports
Primary use: Very bulky, expensive cargo through highsec or scouted lowsec.
Unlike blockade runners, deep space transports (DST) have a larger capacity than their hauler equivalents. They also have a fleet hangar that holds (base) 50,000 m3. They have bonuses to active tanking, either shield resistances or armor resistances, helping them to fit substantial buffer tanks. Finally, they get a unique role bonus of 100% to overheating benefits of Afterburners, Microwarpdrives, Local Repair Modules, and Resistance Modules.
They also have a role bonus of +2 warp strength: this means they can't be tackled by just one warp disruptor or non-faction warp scrambler, though they can still be caught by bubbles, gangs of tacklers or HICs.
Where blockade runners are meant to rely on speed and stealth to slip by the enemy, deep space transports are designed to bust their way through the enemy, relying on their warp strength and tanking abilities to escape. This probably won't work against a determined and well-prepared gatecamp, and using a deep space transport indicates to all and sundry that you have cargo you want to protect, so you should think carefully before deploying one.
All DSTs have a base 50k m3 (60k m3 with the Transport Ships skill trained to IV) fleet hangar which can hold any type of cargo, assembled ships, or even packaged battleships. As such, fitting these ships for cargo is redundant since cargo rigs and modules only affect the much smaller general cargo bay. DSTs should be fit and skilled into to play to their active tanking and overheating bonuses in order to maximize survivability, as these ships will primarily be used to transport large quantities of high-value goods.
