Flub-

It would be best if you left this discussion to those who have experience in this situation. Your off the cuff suppositions are just introducing random "maybes" into what is a fairly straightforward problem and solution. Unless you have some experience (and not just opinions) with the loads incurred during shipment, your ideas are merely confusing the real issue of safely transporting a glider and trailer overseas by commercial carriers.

I agree that the problems with rail shipment eliminate that option from consideration (not to mention the fact that rail transport is not possible over the ocean), but the problem there is the violent fore/aft slamming as rail cars pound into and away from each other. Also, if you ever had to ride in a rail car with a flat-spotted wheel, you would rather be riding a jackhammer.

Proper packing and adequate straps to restrain movement would be sufficient to take all excessive loads involved in container shipping. "Jolting" is a minimal occurrence as the container is transferred from point to point. That's not to say that it is insignificant, as I have already expressed my disdain for the shipping industry's casual behavior with stuff that is just one more piece of s#*t to them, but a valuable commodity to the owners.

The actual roll/pitch found on a ship is relatively benign, but you don't plan for the optimal "easy" journey. You plan on the worst case. OK, the ship sinks- you cannot plan for that. You cannot plan for the container being washed overboard, except by looking carefully at the documents from the shipping company explaining their liability (watch out for phrases like "act of God," "Force Majeure" and so on).

Properly researched insurance that protects the owner of record (buyer or seller, depending on when ownership is actually transferred vs. packing/shipping/receiving dates) may be more expensive than it should be, but insurance companies don't have a lot of actuarial data to work from. A policy that covers shipping damage will probably save you money if something happens. If nothing happens, you will look at as a waste of money. The buyer/seller should agree on the terms and premium expense prior to delivery to the shipping company.

Essentially, this problem boils down to two issues, which are similar in scope:

Secure the glider in the trailer to restrain unwanted movement. Trailers designed for movement on highways are somewhat adequate, but not perfect. Even with a pretty good trailer suspension, the "G" meter in the Jet Salto is pegged in both positive and negative after even a short road trip. Add some padding and additional restraints to the components that might shift.

Secure the glider trailer in the container as well as you can. Even if the trailer has no running gear or suspension, it would be dumb to introduce an improperly considered "bouncy house" that might exacerbate wear on straps, with a potential to fail one or more restraints due to wear caused by the ship's roll and pitching movements 24 hours a day for possibly weeks at a time.

That's what I know about this. I will let the other know-it-alls like Flub take over from here.