It's not what she used to be that's for sure! Why it has 73 holds is a question only Gary can answer. A lot of people will claim the Constellation as the new ship of choice but the Starmaster is not yet dead. It does have the scanners that are missing from the Constellation and carries around more defensive firepower. It gives away only holds and Transport range to the Constellation. A tough choice to make at first glance. It's turn rate and holds make it only marginally better then the Merchant Freighter. See the comments about the Constellation.
 

Constellation:

Some say it's the replacement for the Starmaster. When they find it lacks a Holo-scanner they will be selling it back. Not a bad ship for it's class but the lack of a scanner puts a damper on it's uses. Like the Starmaster In many ways this ship serves very little purpose when turns are considered in trading. I don't see much use for one when other ships including the cruiser can make near the same credits. For an Evil this ship may serve as a stepping stone to a Mule when running Sell-Steal-Transport in a "mapped" area.
 

T'Khasi Orion:

Why? The merchant Freighter out performs this ship in every way except firepower and even the added firepower this ship offers is not enough to do battle with anyone other then an alien or new player. It's lack of a holo-scanner make it far less useful in the role of a scout. So again I have to ask Why?