Small passenger ship

The designation small passenger ship (also known as SSP, short for "small starship, passenger") generally referred to passenger liners that were shorter than 100 meters and carried a maximum of 500 passengers.

Although the exact definition of this classification could differ slightly across various sectors, the Galactic Empire only stipulated, beyond size and passenger limits, that a ship needed to operate with a license issued by the governor of the planet it claimed as its home port to qualify as an SSP. The responsibility of ensuring the ship complied with Imperial safety standards, as well as collecting necessary fees and taxes, fell to the planetary government.

Certain planets gained notoriety for providing inexpensive licenses coupled with relaxed enforcement of regulations. Consequently, some SSPs were known to possess licenses from numerous home ports, allowing the ship's captain to evade responsibilities by presenting a license from a different port.

Given the fundamental constraints of the designation, virtually any small vessel possessing a passenger license fell under the SSP umbrella, encompassing shuttles, freighters, and even star cruisers. Nevertheless, they were categorized into "line-operated" ships and "independents." Line-operated ships generally offered consistent inter-system travel within a specific sector, while independents encompassed a wide range of captains licensed to carry passengers, exhibiting diverse operational styles and rarely adhering to a strict route schedule.