Starfield how to get a shielded cargo hold to smuggle contraband

Want to know how to get a shielded cargo hold in Starfield? If you’ve already been caught trying to bring and sell contraband on certain United Colonies or Freestar Collective planets, then you’ve probably been arrested and had your cargo confiscated. So how are you supposed to successfully sell your contraband? That’s where shielded cargo holds come in, and we’re going to tell you all about them.

If you’re considering committing full-time to the life of piracy, then the space pirates of the Starfield Crimson Fleet are the faction for you. And if you’re interested in joining any other groups, check out all of the available Starfield factions to see what they have to offer. With that, let’s take a look at how to get a shielded cargo hold to smuggle contraband in Starfield.

What is a shielded cargo hold in Starfield?

A shielded cargo hold is a ship module that makes it more difficult for authorities to successfully detect contraband on your ship during scans. In your usual cargo hold, and without any ranks in the Deception skill, you will have a 0% chance of evading detection with contraband on your ship, so getting your hands on one of these modules is a must if you’re planning on making a lot of money by smuggling. But as these modules can help you smuggle contraband, you won’t be able to purchase them from a Ship Services Technician at any major spaceport.

How do you get a shielded cargo hold in Starfield?

The only place to get a shielded cargo hold in Starfield is the Red Mile in the Porrima system. The Red Mile is a location on the planet Porrima III, and is located outside of the jurisdiction of both the Universal Colonies and Freestar Collective, and as such, you can find some less than legal items here. Our Starfield Red Mile location guide will help you find it no problem.

Head to Porrima III and choose to land at the Red Mile location on the planet map. Once you touch down, enter the airlock ahead of you, and enter the first room on your right, where you’ll find the Red Mile’s technician, Lon Anderssen. Talk to him, and ask to modify your ship, as you would with any other technician.

Open the ship builder menu, and select ‘Add’ to see all of the modules you can add to your ship. Scroll to the Cargo tab, and you’ll find three different shielded cargo holds – the 1000CM Ballast Shielded Cargo Hold, 2000CM Ballast Shielded Cargo Hold, and the Caravel V101 Shielded Cargo Hold. Lon also sells a few ships that have shielded cargo holds included.

If you don’t want to spend the credits, you can occasionally come across Crimson Fleet ships that have a shielded cargo hold. You can simply steal one of these to use for your smuggling if you so choose. Alternatively, there are some quests which provide ships with a shielded cargo hold as a reward. The Razorleaf ship from the Mantis quest is one such ship, and can be found relatively early in the game.

Now you’ve got your shielded cargo hold, simply deposit any contraband into the hold when you’re heading to a star system where you’ll be scanned, and pray that your increased chance of avoiding detection kicks in. If not, you’ll be arrested as usual and have your contraband confiscated. If you want a better chance to avoid detection, consider ranking up your Deception skill, or buying some Scan Jammers from Lon in the Red Mile.

That’s everything you need to know about how to get a shielded cargo hold in Starfield. If you want more info on how to smuggle and sell contraband in Starfield and how to sell items in Starfield our guides have you covered. And if you’re after some new armour, check out where to get the Starfield Bounty Hunter Spacesuit to get a pretty powerful set.