Ships can bump each other to prevent them reaching safety, to manipulate ranges, cause them to lose their targets (ships within a pos forcefield can't target an

Ships can bump each other to prevent them reaching safety, to manipulate ranges, cause them to lose their targets (ships within a pos forcefield can't target anything, disrupting logistics) or to knock stranded friendly ships into the safety of a force field. It's actually quite nuanced. Bumping doesn't damage shops though. In this case, I think it was simply a turn of phrase.