There are an estimated two million protesters in the streets on Cairo today; most rail, trucking and buses are shut down across Egypt, yet  the Suez Canal, which can represent up 8 percent of global seaborne trade, remains open and in operation.  Military escorts for protection through the pirate-prone Gulf of Aden are unavailable and crew repatriation and purchase of provisions have not been possible for some ships.   Troops have been deployed to protect the SuMed pipeline transporting crude alongside the Suez Canal.

Larger concerns are being expressed over the closure or disruption in Egyptian ports.  A.P. Moller-Maersk has suspended its Egypt port terminal operations and closed its shipping offices and South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping has re-routed some of its container vessels to avoid either shut-downs or disruption in Port Said and Alexandria.   There are concerns of shortages if port operations do not resume shortly.