The old Zoner gunboat was very widely dispersed on the market.
The new one isn't spread around at all.
You could easily extend that roleplay a bit, and add something to the effect of the following...
The old one could easily be considered an outmoded model and then their manufacturing could be taken up by several civilian contractors and various pirate and mercenary groups, etc. The old Conference was widely dispersed, as previously said, so it would make sense that, once the Zoners stopped producing it and really caring about it, other groups would start making it as a gunboat for their fleets, if they couldn't get their hands on another one.
/shrug - i have no idea why people wouldn t use the new one. - its the same with a little less cargo ( as if anyone seriously traded with the old one ) - and 2 more guns.
and one cannot say that zoners are very protective about their gunboat either.
actually - not much has changed at all. - zoners wouldn t like it much when they were pirated by their own ships - and thats pretty much still the very same. i haven t heard of a single case when zoners would refuse others the use of the gunboat - unless they experienced this use to be pirating their own transports.
so - i have no idea why the updated gunboat should not be as widespread as the old one.
but i see reasons why the old conference being a ZONER ship - should not be a generic ship. - cause then - zoners could - and at some time would - restrict its usage by others.