First....Find the Character.gf folder (I think it's in MetaAssets\ServerProfiles\SinglePlayer )
then you'll see 3 lists like this......
// Starting ships for players (sorted by RACE)
[StartingShips/0]
0 = "Norway" // On easy difficulty, Feds start out in Norways
1 = "K'Vort" // and Klingons start out in K'Vorts, etc
2 = "Falcon"
3 = "Diamond"
// Here for completeness ONLY, to account for extra races?
4 = "NO SHIP"
5 = "NO SHIP"
6 = "NO SHIP"
7 = "NO SHIP"
8 = "NO SHIP"
9 = "NO SHIP"
The first list if for easy difficulty, the second for medium, and the third (you guessed it....) hard.