How to transfer a Mobile Depot in deep space

Scenario #1; So called organised pilot brings in different guns and Mobile Depot for different pilot on a dead POS bash, and a mobile lab. So called organised pilot can not work out how to give different pilot the mobile depot.  Both give up and refit at POS.

Scenario #2; So called organised pilot brings in a cloaky transport and a frigate on 2 different pilots (one of them with lots of T2 skills), intending to swap into bigger ships held by a different corp.  I have a pilot with access to the SMA, one pilot with depots and can fly a cloaky ship, and one pilot that can fit the modules but not the cloaky ship.  The challenge is to get the modules out of the cloaky hauler and fit to the big combat boat.


Mobile depots are wonderful things for wormhole space day trippers.  The ability to refit without needing an orca, put up a POS & SMA, or head back to NPC space is wonderful.  To use one, the pilot in question must deploy and not corporation.

We know is where you can not launch them from the in game description : May not be deployed within 6km of another Mobile Depot, within 50km of Stargates or Stations, or within 40km of a Starbase.

They also take a minute to deploy.

What you might not know is that they are a Plank Container.  This means no jet canning.  This starts to make it difficult to deploy for additional pilot without some thinking.

They can not be scooped by another pilot even if launched but not anchored.

The methods that can be used to swap a depot.

• A station, whether by trade or contract. 
• A POS, where both pilots are in corp and have access to a common division
• An Orca in space, deep space transport, carrier, or Nestor (edit 27 Apr 2016)
• Ship swapping.  

If I have access to the first 3, the chances are that I don't need a mobile depot.

Ship swapping takes 2 forms.

The first method is :

• Pilot 1 (with depot) and pilot 2 (wanting depot) eject into pods,
• Pilot 2 boards ship with depot, deploys and anchors where they want, and ejects,
• Both pilots board their respective ships.  

This works where both pilots can fly the ship that has the depot in it.  However, in my most recent case the depots were in a cloaky hauler, and only one pilot could fly it.

So the second method is

• Pilot 1 (with depot) launches depot and ejects.
• Pilot 2 (wanting depot) takes a ship that both pilots can fly to the lauched depot and ejects
• Pilot 1 boards the commonly flown ship, recovers depot, and ejects
• Both pilots board their own ships.
• Pilot 2 deploys and anchors depot where they want. 

So, now I have a method of getting a depot from pilot and giving it to another