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Ask Slashdot: Transporting Computers By Cargo Ship?

JabrTheHut writes "I'll be packing up and moving to another continent soon. Everything I own will be packed up into boxes and loaded onto a cargo container, which in turn will be loaded onto a ship and will sail from Northern Europe, through the equator and then to its final destination. It will be in transit for up to 8 weeks. What do I need to do to ensure my stuff survives the trip? I've got anti-static bags and silica gel for graphics cards and hard disks, which won't be in the computers, mostly, when they move, and some of what I own will be crated in order to protect both against physical damage and humidity. I'll throw in a couple of packets of silica gel into each box or crate. Clothes get moth balls. But what have I missed? Will the printer ink survive? Do I have to worry about batteries? What haven't I thought of?"

5 of 249 comments (clear)

  1. Ping-pong balls by Smivs · · Score: 2, Funny

    Whatever else you do, pack all the spare space in the container with ping-pong balls. At least then if the ship sinks or the container is washed overboard it will float.

  2. Re:Idiot by nospam007 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Come on, give him a break. He's shipping computer parts to _China._
    Nobody has ever done that!
    Why would one, you'll get a new one there for less than the transport costs.

  3. Re:Dude, its not going to the moon... by BitwizeGHC · · Score: 4, Funny

    Bag it. Tape it. Pad it. Box it.

    ... strap it, seal it, zip it, ship it.

    Technologic.

    Technologic.

    --
    N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
  4. Re:Packaging by Ford+Prefect · · Score: 5, Funny

    Exactly. I ship expensive electronics (scientific equipment) by container ship all the time. It's not that big a deal.

    Actually, come to think of it, the only thing of mine that did get slightly damaged was an old Soviet microscope. Primarily because some idiot (i.e. me) forgot to bolt it into its carrying case, allowing it to rattle around inside.

    (Good news - the heavy-duty Soviet engineering meant just the monocular head was very slightly bent. I hope I didn't damage the cargo ship, however...)

    --
    Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
  5. Re:Heat. by evanism · · Score: 5, Funny

    What about the electrons? If he crosses the equator he'll need to reverse the polarity of a few things. ;)

    --
    Just bought a new quantum computer, but I'm uncertain how it works.