How do you get a mobile pirate base/station?

[Betelgeuse97]

Out of curiosity, I searched this question and I got conflicting answers, some saying it does or doesn't spawn.

Does anyone know if they do, and if they do spawn, what techniques are viable at getting one? (I'm willing to dig up a 6 year old X3AP vanilla save just to get it!)

[Alan Phipps]

Pirate Bases start off located as given in the game start map.

Non-plot (ie not the invulnerable ones) respawn in a randomly nearby sector a while after being destroyed (and not while you are IS in that new sector). Some respawn choices are remote or in benign sectors and so they may last, but others are in locations where they quickly attract local authority patrols and so do not last for long.

The only ones that will always eventually respawn in their original location while you are OOS are the Anarchy Ports.

If you were after hijacking a blueprint for one on a TL on its way to build it, then it doesn't work like that.

[NewtSoup]

There's usually one in Atreus' Clouds on the far west of the sector.
And one in Priest's Pity

( though in my game they have been destroyed now I have just noticed )