After 6 long days and some creative problem-solving, the vessel was unstuck and ready to continue its journey… but the Egyptian government impounded it after an insurance dispute. It took another 4 months for the dispute to be battled out by the lawyers and on 7th July 2021, the Ever Given set sail again on her journey home. 

Now, I don’t doubt you’ve heard this story before. You’d have had to be living under a rock to miss it. But there’s one side of the story that wasn’t really talked about all that much…the actual cargo. 

What happened to the cargo that was on board the Ever Given? Well, that’s where we come back to rotten cabbages. Some of the $775m worth of cargo on board the ship will have made its way to its destination, some will have been abandoned and some will have been perishable and will have needed to be destroyed… Like the cabbages.

But there are companies out there who deal with this very situation. Cargo salvage companies. It’s not actually that uncommon for cargo to get abandoned. Sometimes it’s because delays meant the perishable goods went off, sometimes it’s because a company goes out of business or the cost of storage is too high so the owner never claims the goods. And sometimes it’s because a ship got wedged in the Suez Canal…

What would a salvage company want with 360 tons of rotten cabbages? Well it might surprise you, but they can sell them on. No kidding. Those cabbages from the Ever Given were sold to an anaerobic digestion plant, where they would be turned into fuel! One man’s garbage really is another man’s gold! 

No big lesson here today (well, other than to make sure you always insure your cargo!) Just a bit of insight into what goes on in the world of freight. Have you got any interesting behind the scenes stories from your industry? I’d love to hear them…