Federation Commander

Merchants (Freighters) are limited to Speed 16 on the ship card. Can they accelerate and do 16+1?
We recently played a game with a merchant convoy. We limited them to Speed 16, but couldn't confirm by the rules or the ship card if they could have done 16+1 by paying for acceleration.

Yes, you may accelerate. The only restriction is only on what baseline speed you may choose. If acceleration was also removed, it would also be stated.

Thank you!