Some missing freighters may have been stripped for spares, while others were destroyed in enemy action. Either cause shrinks the fleet's accommodation and redundancy at the same time that aging ships need more maintenance. Survivors must be concentrated into less space, worsening confinement and placing greater loads on the remaining life-support systems. The resulting overcrowding makes fleet attrition a humanitarian and logistical problem as well as a loss of hulls.
Notable Point · 22:30-23:19
Every lost hull removes space, spares, and resilience
Cannibalizing or losing civilian ships may yield parts or reflect combat damage, but it forces survivors into a steadily smaller habitable fleet.