Aside from two extra segments of cheap armor, it is as underequipped and underpowered as the Sapphire, but does not start with extra money to compensate for lack of equipment.

nms 17 Aug 2015:

It should probably just start with better equipment. Kibo is a significantly more dangerous system than Eridani and it's not unusual for a Hercules to come under attack from enemies it can't reasonably be expected to defeat before even discovering a friendly station.

I think it should probably start with level 2-3 weapons and armor. The other ships with similarly poor maneuverability start with level 2-3 omnidirectional weapons, but even a decent level 2 weapon like, say, a fast-fire laser would go a long way.