I swear the game (and GC2) is monitoring my overall ship strength relative to the other positions and when the game decides I'm too "weak", my survey ship just "happens" to find a ship or I colonize a world that can give me one depending on my choices or some other "random" event produces a ship.
Finding a derelict starship that could actually be used should probably only occur in movies.
Could the finding of ships be made an option so I can turn it off?
--David