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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?"
My main concern would be heat- and there's not much you can do about it, unfortunately.
Sun on a metal box basically turns it into an oven. Hopefully your container isn't on top.
Personally I would have just backed the data up and carried the hard drives with me if I were moving continents. Computer hardware isn't that expensive to replace.
If you're intent on doing it that way though, it might help to package the stuff in its original boxes, I know many people do keep them. They're suitable for shipping.
One thing I know, and that is that I am ignorant...
Simple - put things into packaging approximating what they originally came in. Worked fine for me, with a range of computing hardware and an inkjet printer travelling from Europe to Washington State.
(How do you think much of your computing stuff made its way from China to begin with?)
Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
Really, all this transportation is one thing, but you should have a secure backup that isn't transported so far out of your hands.
Because ships sink, cargo containers break or get stolen, things go bad.
At least if the internet cables break, that's not your problem.
You should talk to missionaries who go for long term assignments. They typically ship the bulk of houshold goods by ship because it's cheaper. Biggest problem is dealing with the customs workers on the other end. One trick was to put a cute cuddly child's toy on the top of each box or container. The customs guy would often take that and leave the rest. That was 30 years ago.. Don't know what is the best nowadays.
One lady had to pack 4 years of tampons. Customs guy had never seen them before. Husband went to pick up the barrels (45 gallon drums) and was a bit of a joker. Q. "What are these?". A. "What do you think?" Q "Some kind of new cigarette?"
I packaged the computers in their rack, pulled the hard disks, they were hand carried. I did make one mistake, my container (and computers) were inspected, and I had already set the computers to EU voltage, lost a motherboard and 2 power supplies.
No real special care needed to be done, the container was loaded by the shipping company, and all my stuff arrived just fine in Finland after about about 2.5 months later. Only real hassle was the car, the rest was just tax free and easy as "removal goods" as per EU regulations.
Should be removed for shipping.
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
Prepare to lose everything you pack in the container. Cargo ships will pack as many cargo containers into them as they can and whatever won't fit into the hold will be strapped to the deck. It is not unknown for cargo containers to be washed overboard during a storm. A shipment of rubber ducks that were washed overboard ended up helping scientists track ocean currents. See the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendly_Floatees
Put it in sealed plastic bags, and forget about it.
Why bother to remove the hard drives and graphics cards? Just bag the computer and ship it intact with sufficient padding for normal handling.
Containers aren't totally humidity proof, but they aren't going to have ocean waves flowing thru your stuff either. They are close enough to being
sealed that simply bagging against humidity is sufficient. Silica gel is unnecessary. Bag it. Tape it. Pad it. Box it. done.
Pack it like you would for motor freight from one end of your country to the other.
Ocean passage is five nines uneventful. Occasionally large waves take entire tiers of containers
off ships, but this is exceedingly rare, and that is what insurance is for.
Your stuff is more at risk sitting in the freight yard pre and post passage, than it is on the ship. Not from any real damage, but rather from pilferage.
Moth balls? At sea?
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Remove the CPU's heatsink from the motherboard, if you haven't. Those things are heavy, and the plastic screws typically holding them on are weak. The last thing you want is a big hunk of metal bouncing around inside the box.
Source: experience :(
Why not take this opportunity to simplify your life by owning less stuff? It would save you from having to pack, ship, track, and store everything.
There are far more opportunities available if you're mobile enough to fit your life into a couple of suitcases and leave the bulky/sentimental stuff with relatives. More importantly, your spending will naturally shift from things to people and experiences that can't get damaged or lost in transit.
There are 1.1... kinds of people.
Sell, pawn, or throw pretty much everything away and get new stuff when you get there. If you are paying for the shipping, I'm willing to bet almost everything you are shipping is not worth the cost to ship it. Ship the sentimental stuff (pictures, videos, gifts, etc) and take the super important things with you on the plane. I'm pretty sure a used ink cartridge for your printer is not worth shipping across the globe and waiting 8 weeks for it.
The USA uses a different voltage and frequency from most of the planet. Back all your data online, copy it onto USB devices and sell as much as possible. Unless you are being posted to a desert island, you will be able to buy replacements when you arrive. This will save you transport costs.
I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
I shipped a computer, some hard drives and a couple of lcd monitors from Thailand to New Zealand by ship. I packed it in original packaging when possible, and the computer (DAW) was in a rackmount chassis in a metal studio case. Padded it with a couple of blankets. Everything was fine, except the motherboard died about a week after arrival. Could have been the shipping, could have been the arbitrariness of life. It was a couple of years old at that time.
As someone who has moved overseas and back four times; you are worried about the trivial details. Take a good hard look at the shipping contract concerning damage coverage. The contract may also prohibit certain hazardous materials like lead acid batteries and cleaning products.
Have your property packed out by a company experienced in shipping belongings overseas. No amount of silica packages will protect your stuff if the container is lost at sea or gets sea water inside.
Document the condition of your belongings before they are packed up. Also make backups of important data and papers and keep them separate from your shipment. So that in the event that the worst happens, it's just a matter of getting reimbursed for damages and buying replacements. While that can be time consuming and annoying, it is better than losing irreplaceable photos or legal records.
Good luck and enjoy your new country.
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.
Smivs on the intertubes!
This is an important question that everyone should ask, regardless of how far they are moving. You mention graphics cards and hard drives that are not installed in computers - are they really worth transporting? I know this can be a hard question to answer but it is important. I would recommend looking at the cost per kilogram you are paying for transport, and then think seriously of which items that you are shipping are worth at least that much per kilogram on their own. Anything that doesn't meet that threshold should probably not be moved.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
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.
Your biggest problem isn't humidity, it's going to be salt. Those cargo containers are not airtight, and if nothing else your crates and pallets may be sitting on a dock for an extended period of time. If things are in well-sealed cardboard boxes, it shouldn't be an issue... but you're not very clear on how your stuff is being packed.
Consider getting one of the large rolls of cling-film used for shipping (i.e. similar to saran-wrap). For electronics (TV, computer, printer, maybe even the coffee machine) wrap them individually with the cling-film; it's not perfect, but if done well (i.e. tightly and completely) that should choke-off any salt spray from finding it's way inside.
Also, anything that is on a pallet (but not a crate) should be wrapped and strapped so that the (a) the pallet stays in one piece, and (b) it is tamper-evident.
I used to be the head shipper/receiver for a company that shipped million dollar equipment pretty much everywhere in the world. Since their business spanned in various areas from mechanical equipment like computerized hydraulic saws to CNC machines, UPS systems, to custom electric motors, to replacement panels for other machines. Everything had to be packed in it's own way.
The non-non-rule(aka the most important). Document everything, and prepare your customs and declaration information beforehand. Be clear, be concise. Put an extra copy inside the box, on top of what you packed so if it's opened customs officials will have a full inventory list and hopefully won't destroy everything.
Rule one: There's no such thing using too little packing material. And your packaging should always be overrated, if you're sharing a shipping container this is doubly true.
Rule two: If it's important, it goes in the crate. The crate goes in another crate. And between the two crates you use extra padding. You pay for it(by size) but you can help make sure it gets there in tact. Otherwise, just pack smart.
Rule three: Anything that can cause damage needs to be packed separately from the main components. And any form of capture material(heat sinks, cooling containers, coolant, etc) is stored in it's own box. You'll be putting each of those in their own packing too, unless they're cheap.
Rule four: If it can go wrong, it will go wrong. An example: $4m CNC machine is being shipped to Dallas, in a box, strapped to the inside of a truck. It was hit by a train. Don't expect everything to go perfectly, even customs can cage your stuff for weeks if you mess up a declaration.
Om, nomnomnom...
You skipped over a lot of interesting responses to tell him it's a dumb question.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Now you have all time in the world, but seriously. When you arrive at your new home, new job, new everything, you have, and want to have, other stuff on your mind than your old computer collection.
All you need, most likely, is one working, in a fashionable way, PC or laptop. Printers are not relevant as they are available in any corner of the world for $50. So is all your old data, if it doesn't fit on an SD card it's rubbish anyways.
Disassembling working hardware is a bad idea too, better leave the computer just as-is, in working order, than to dissassemble. That's only waiting for extra unanticipated problems.
Meanwhile, you are going to sit and wait 8 weeks without your hardware. You will find some replace, and use that.
Imho, the only reason to ship your old hardware is if you think over there where you going is a viable 2nd hand market for it. And even then you should wonder.
When migrating. Bring as little as possible. On bring stuff you have a strong bond with. To me, that would not be a set of computers, that for sure. One, maximum. And better even: just one usb-key with data.
You will have other things on your mind when you get there. Now you have all time of the world bothering this issue, even asking for it on /. In two months, you'll regret giving yourself the extra hassle of re-assembling your computer farm. Chances are it'll keep in boxes for the next year. And that you only unpack you furniture, and other comfortable stuff.
A glitch a day keeps the bugs away.
Having shipped something once, if your container happens to end up on the top of the ship, it can get _very_ hot.
One of the devices I shipped had a thermometer in, and it got to 83 C (181 F). Lots of things melted, and all the rubber seals became all sticky and useless. Lots of other bits of plastic became hard and cracked. Lots of bottled products either expanded and split or evaporated. Lots of batteries split and broke the things they were in. The shipping company didn't care...
I'd say, make sure you have some kind of data logger in there logging at the very least pressure, temperature, and wetness, and then if they drop your container in the sea you at least know what happened to it...
Until the local customs officer asks for the duties on that nice shiny furniture. And yes I made the move from USA to Oz. God I miss Woomera!