SS Xhosa The SS " Xhosa " was a cruiser constructed at the Luna Shipyards in the 23rd century and commanded by Captain Kasidy Yates . The ship ' s equipment was mostly obsolete , as such it only had a Mark V transporter , requiring ship ' s personnel to use anti - grav sled s when loading the ship with unstable biomatter . ( ) Missions . In 2371 , the " Xhosa " operated under the authority of the Petarian s . ( ) On Stardate 48960 . 9 , the " Xhosa " hauled a load of duridium ore to Solais V . The ship was due to return to DS9 the following month . ( ) When a Klingon task force arrived in the Bajoran system in early 2372 , a Klingon Bird - of - Prey , the " M ' Char " , stopped the " Xhosa " and attempted to board it to search for Changeling s while attempting to leave the system . Trapped in the " M ' Char " s tractor beam , its Commander Kaybok , insisted that the freighter must be searched , under orders from Chancellor Gowron and the Klingon High Council . They were approached by the , which eventually forced the " M ' Char " to withdraw and the " Xhosa " left the Bajoran system for approximately two weeks . The " Xhosa " later returned to Deep Space 9 for a one - day layover before departing again for its next haul . ( ) Later that year , Yates secured a contract with the Bajoran Ministry of Commerce for cargo runs to outlying Bajoran colonies . ( ) Yates ' ship returned to Deep Space 9 , whereupon she and Benjamin Sisko departed the station for three days in the Bajoran outback . ( ) The " Xhosa " later delivered emergency supplies to the Maquis . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The script of " For the Cause " describes the " Xhosa " as " " the twenty - fourth century equivalent of a tramp steamer . The Bridge is laid out in a rectangular design than the circular pattern preferred by Starfleet . The rectangle runs fore and aft , with the forward end dominated by a viewscreen and the aft by a doorway . The helm control is in the center of the room and the other consoles line the two opposing walls and are usually unmanned . This is definitely a " working " ship with no frills . This is also an older vessel and should not have the clean , freshly scrubbed feeling of a Starfleet bridge " " . ( " " ) In " For the Cause , " the " Xhosa " s bridge display graphics are noticeably reminiscent of the screens seen on the bridge of the on , implying that the " Xhosa " may be a century old . ( ) The studio model of the " Xhosa " was a repainted reuse of the " Norkova " from , which was itself a reuse of the " Batris " from . The model was later reused to represent a dilithium freighter in . The name " Xhosa " comes from a tribe indigenous to South Africa known as the . In real life , the word begins with a lateral click not present in English . According to the scripts for " The Way of the Warrior " and " For the Cause " , the word is pronounced " ZOE - sa " . The " Star Trek Encyclopedia " suggests " Zosha " as the pronunciation . Apocrypha . During the Typhon Pact novel " Plagues of Night , " the " Xhosa " is destroyed with all hands when a Tzenkethi ship collides with it , causing it to explode . Captain Yates - Sisko and Vedek Kira Nerys had left moments before , boarding Deep Space 9 to help an ongoing evacuation . However , the station itself was destroyed by a reactor breach seconds later , as Captain Benjamin Sisko watched from the bridge of his new starship , the USS " Robinson " . The novelization of " The Way of the Warrior " featured scenes set aboard the " Xhosa " .