Jellyfish ( ship ) The Jellyfish was a late - 24th century starship commissioned by the Vulcan Science Academy for the transport of red matter . It was described as being " our fastest ship " and featured a rotating tail section . History . After the ship ' s commissioning in 2387 , Ambassador Spock piloted the " Jellyfish " during his attempt to save the Milky Way Galaxy from destruction by a massive supernova before it destroyed the planet Romulus . Spock used the " Jellyfish " to inject red matter into the supernova , resulting in the creation of a black hole that absorbed the nova . While the plan succeeded , Spock was unfortunately too late to stop the supernova from destroying Romulus . As Spock was attempting to depart , he was intercepted by the Romulan mining vessel " Narada " , and both ships were pulled into the black hole . The " Narada " emerged from the tunnel through space - time in 2233 and was the catalyst for the alternate reality , whereas the " Jellyfish " exited the black hole twenty - five years later . Upon capture by Nero , the ship was stored inside the " Narada " . Nero later ordered the use of the red matter aboard the seized ship to destroy the planet . The ship was destroyed when the younger of the alternate reality was able to retrieve the ship and piloted it on a collision course with the " Narada " , igniting the red matter inside . Spock survived the collision and was beamed aboard the at the last moment . ( ) Specifications . The " Jellyfish " was outfitted with a chamber designed for the safe storage and transport of red matter , as well as a means of extracting the matter for the purposes of its mission . In addition , the ship featured four forward mounted torpedo launcher s and a warp drive . The ship was also equipped with the means to recognize its pilot , Ambassador Spock , via facial recognition and voiceprint analysis . As a result , it welcomed aboard Commander Spock and allowed him to pilot its controls . It was at this point that he realized who must have helped return to the after being marooned on - asked if he would be able to fly the craft , Spock told Kirk that he likely already had . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The ship was not given a name in the film , but it was named as the " Jellyfish " in the script , in which it was described as " a unique - looking spacecraft . " Concept artist Ryan Church envisaged the ship as having a transparent exterior , based on the actual translucent appearance of a jellyfish . Comic book artist Bryan Hitch contributed to the final shape of the ship , taking inspiration from a . Church had another idea , of the ship being a cube of pure energy to emphasize its roots in Vulcan science , but J . J . Abrams felt the ship had to have " as much character as Leonard Nimoy had in his face " . Visual effects supervisor Roger Guyett stated that production designer Scott Chambliss envisaged the ship ' s exterior surface as " sophisticated technology married with organic things " . " It might even be a technology Vulcans ' ' grow ' , like a plant of high tensile steel . " Guyett also said the ship ' s warp signature was intended to evoke clean " green " energy , in contrast to the " burned dirty fuel " aesthetic of the " Narada " . ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " ) The triangular pilot ' s chair and circular view screen form the Vulcan IDIC symbol when viewed from behind the main cockpit area . According to information on the Blu - ray version , the ship is 178 feet ( 54 . 25 meters ) long . The white bolts fired by the " Jellyfish " were identified in the script of " Star Trek " as torpedo es . A dossier on the " Star Trek " movie website stated that the " Jellyfish " was a single - occupancy vessel with the maximum warp speed of warp factor 8 . This speed figure would indicate that the line about the " Jellyfish " being " our fastest ship " was not meant to indicate that the " Jellyfish " was the fastest Starfleet ship in 2387 , but rather the fastest ship operated by the Vulcan Science Academy . The for example had a maximum warp speed of warp factor 9 . 975 , 16 years before the launch of the " Jellyfish " . Interestingly , the computer aboard the vessel responded to Spock ' s inquiry in regards to its manufacturing origin using the stardate system of the alternate reality rather than that of its origin ( the " prime " reality ) . This may indicate an Earth / Human - centric shift in the prime universe post - " Voyager " . Apocrypha . According to the prequel comic " " , issue number 3 , the " Jellyfish " was a prototype vessel built to withstand unstable atmospheres . Its designer and original pilot was Geordi La Forge . Information originally posted on the " Star Trek Online " main website indicated that the " Jellyfish " was equipped with trans - metaphasic shielding . The experimental spacecraft was launched from the Daystrom Institute and Starfleet was working with La Forge and the institute to determine if some of the ship ' s systems could be adapted for Federation use . Standard metaphasic shield ing has been seen or mentioned in and in . The virtual collectible card battle game " " has the " Jellyfish " on card # 94 " Prototype " Jellyfish " " .