A lot of people don't know what to do with the containers.
An essential part of the machinery of global trade is the cargo salvage industry, which is operated by a young man.
One of the big machines got stuck in the canal. The Ever Given, the biggest container ship in the world, blocked the shipping lane for six days.
The 18 containers of cabbages were part of the ship's cargo. His firm arranged for their delivery to be taken to a plant that converts waste into fuel.
There are a lot of reasons that cargo may need to be salvaged. Goods may need to be destroyed if they die during their journey.
Goods can be ordered destroyed if local authorities deem them unsafe.
"During the Pandemic we destroyed tens of thousands of items of fake PPE, mainly fake masks and fake gloves that had been imported from China," says Mr Slinn.
The damaged or unsafe cargo needs to be salvaged.
cargo may be stranded at a port if a business goes belly up Goods may be abandoned if they are delayed.
The cost of storing items at the port or in a nearby warehouse can be more than the owner's worth.
Sometimes a salvaged company will step in and find buyers.
The Vidlers have decades of experience finding buyers for used goods.
The company is trying to find buyers after acquiring containers of easy-to- assemble housing units.
We got them from Turkey and have been talking to a lot of people from places like La Palma after the volcano erupted.
There is a housing problem and they can be set up quickly.
They can take on large quantities of industrial goods if they have a large database of buyers.
Storage Wars is a US show where contestants bid on storage units with the goal of profiting from the abandoned goods inside them.
The work done by the companies is good for the environment.
Mr Slinn says that they don't send anything to the landfill because it's not cost-effective.
Mrs. Vidler agrees. We are not green washing. These things end up in landfill because of what we do.
The release of the handbrake on global trade, emptying containers that can then go back into circulation is one of the environmental benefits.
"We empty a container in the morning and it's already going back out on a ship empty by the afternoon," Mr Slinn said.
The issue of getting containers back into circulation was a pressing one.
According to the World Container Index produced by analysts Drewry, the price of a 40ft container hit a high of almost $10,300 in September 2021.
The price has fallen back to $2,773, which is below the five-year average of $3,759.
Delays, financial turmoil and strikes can provide opportunities for those in the cargo industry.
Industrial action in Felixstowe resulted in an increase in abandoned cargo.
The ship that was supposed to pick up the container of pork couldn't dock at the port so Mr. Slinn had to dispose of it.
People stopped buying stock because of the shutdown. It was frustrating for a lot of people but a good thing for us.
It's possible that containers will be stranded because of high energy prices.
Companies may not be able to afford the increased cost of storing goods in warehouses, while others may go out of business, leaving their goods unwanted and stuck.
There are opportunities for the industry in a tough economy.
There are disasters we can be affected by.
Firms like hers rely on being able to connect buyers and sellers.
Mr Slinn says that the business is always interesting.
You never know what's going to happen on a daily basis.
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