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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?"
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?
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?"
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.
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.
I can't imagine the heat doing much compared to the running tempretures of a normal PC. 70C is not out of the picture in an overclocked system, and it survives just fine.
Besides, how do you think it got over here in the first place? Shipped by cargo ship from the far east.
Personally, I would hand carry any media I wanted to protect. The data is important, the hardware is an inconvenience.
Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
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.
Yep, have a backup of important data that you carry on your person during the trip. The hardware can pretty much be haphazardly stuffed into boxes and not worried about.
Computers are not the delicate, fragile devices that so many people insist on treating them as. If they were laptops could not exist.
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.
Carry the media? That's a load of crap. IT'll just get confiscated at the border. Pay someone to put the data somewhere within whatever country you're in now on a VPN and you just copy it over once you get to your destination.
Disclaimer: The opinions and actions of the US Gov't are in no way representative of those held by this author or its ci
2000 seizures out of 264 million travelers.
Somehow I am not too concerned they are going to seize anything.
I work for IBM, with lots of people that travel out of the country. I have not even heard of anyone getting more than a request to start the laptop to make sure it is real.
It is not even on the list of things IBM Travel created to worry about on a trip, although certain over-the-counter drugs will get you in deep shit if you are not careful...
Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
First off, I'm one of the few people commenting on this thread who's actually moved overseas and sent a computer in their personal belongings crate.
This whole question and most of the answers is a whole lot of hullaballoo over nothing. First, as to carrying the computer onboard carryon or checked baggage: the person will have so much airplane baggage when moving that they're not going to have room to be hauling all their electronics in it, and it'd *definitely* be safer in the shipping crate than in checked baggage.
You know the most dangerous time for shipped goods? Going to and from the port. *Not* while on the ship, not even when being loaded. It's no more dangerous to move by ship than by moving company. Just make sure everything is strapped down *WELL*. It helps if your shipping container is as small as you can possibly get all of your stuff into. Are you using palettes and a partial load or getting a whole crate? Remember that if you get a whole crate you may not be able to have it lowered all the way to the ground, so if you're loading it yourself, you should rent a forklift to help get your stuff in, whether you use palettes or not.
Neither heat nor cold nor static will be a problem. Oceans are temperature moderators and you don't get much more grounded than being surrounded by a giant steel box. Of course your ink will survive; why wouldn't it? And I should reiterate, buy as much of whatever you consume regularly *before* the move because your life will be hectic after it and it takes time to learn where you can buy everything (if it's even available in your new location), esp. if there's a language barrier.
You're thinking of the wrong stuff. When it comes to packing, the primary thing you need to be thinking about is, "how tightly can I wedge all this in and how tightly can I strap it all down?" Whether computer parts or not. And if you're moving to a place with different power, Buy Way More Inverters Than You Think You Need. Get big heavy duty ones and lots of them, not "just enough", because they will break eventually.
Best of luck with your move. I bet you'll be watching the port for your ship like I was! ;)
All them years of priest training, taken out by one bounty hunter.
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.
My wife works for a company that helps people relocate internationally and according to her, heat/cold/water isn't your problem (although do your best to keep moisture out). Your biggest concern is it arriving at all. :) She says a large percentage (25-50%) of the cargo containers just don't get there at all, getting lost who knows where along the way, or arrive severely damaged. Her company's advice is to ship as much as you possibly can by air and only put the stuff that's easily replaceable in the cargo container.