My corporation is based many jumps from a trade hub like Jita. Specifically, 25 jumps through a number of nulsec systems. That's not fun. Originally I thought I was safe traversing that space with a covert ops cloak. That was wishful thinking. Bubbles and gate camps are a big problem…at least for me. Then I got smarter and set my route to avoid all nulsec systems. That produced a route of 42 jumps, including many losec systems. Bubbbles were no longer a problem, but gate camps and talented players made this approach still risky. Although I was successful many times, I lost some very nice ships. Those losses, and the time it takes to make such a round trip, warranted a different approach.

My corp mate suggesting routing thru wormholes. Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that? Here's how it works…

In your favorite exploration ship, scan down wormholes within a few jumps. Warp close to each one. Make a note of their identifier and the types of space they lead to (e.g. unknown, dangerous unknown, hisec, losec, nulsec) and their condition (what size ships can get thru, etc).

While still in your exploration ship, hopefully with a covert ops cloak, enter all hisec and losec destinations. Look at your star map and see how many jumps you are from the hub of your choice. If such a route inludes losec or nulsec sites, consider if you feel safe flying thru that path. My preference is for a route that includes no nullsec systems, and hopefully only 1 or 2 losec systems. Return home, then fill cargo on your ship of choice, go thru the wormhole, follow the route to the hub, sell your goods, and return home. Don't forget to set your bookmarks!

If you're lucky, you'll find a route that's only a few hisec sites from a place like Jita. Sometimes you end up with a wormhole that leads to losec, but then it's only a few hisec jumps to a hub. You get the idea.

It does take some time to scout a route, but it's worth it. I've never lost a ship since I started using this approach. I've had to take trips that involved a wormhole, then 17 jumps, but they were all what I considered safe routes.

If you find a good route, take advantage of it. Make 2 or even 3 round trips to unload goods. Wormholes have a habit of disappearing. Don't assume that a route found this morning will be there this afternoon!

• Scanned down a wormhole in my home system.
• Entered it in a Stratios and scanned down a wormhole that led to hisec.
• Entered that wormhole and found that it was a 0.5 system that was 9 hisec jumps from either Jita or a Concord Bureau.
• Went back to my home system. Made two round trips to sell Overseer Effects at that Concord Bureau in the Stratios, both times with the cargo hold full.