Federation survey ship
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference
A Federation survey ship was a starship utilized by the Federation for survey missions.
The Federation Merchant Service utilized class-4 stardrive survey ships. (TOS: "Bread and Circuses")
In 2268, Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise recommended to Starfleet to dispatch a survey vessel to Argus X due to its rich tritanium deposits. (TOS: "Obsession")
In 2369, a Federation survey ship was one of two ships that had departed Deep Space 9 on the day that Ibudan was murdered. (DS9: "A Man Alone")
