Three of the region's largest maritime shipping lines, CMA-CGM from France, COSCO from China, and MAERSK Line from Denmark, have redirected their cargoes from Port Said to the Israeli port of Eilat, according to a source at the Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT), who requested anonymity. This came as the result of operations in Port Said having been shut down for the last four days, he said. The SCCT has the management and operation rights for the East Port Said port concession. It still has ongoing contracts with these companies, said the source, who couldn't guarantee if the decision was temporary or permanent. The source also said that SCCT employees are now using alternative routes to get to the terminal as a result of a road blockage by protesters, as all roads leading to the ferry on the Port Foud side had been blocked. Meanwhile the Egyptian Transport and Commercial Services Company (EGYTRANS) announced that all storage activity at the Port Said Free Zone had stopped and will not resume until demonstrations stop or security authorities allow the work to resume again. Port Said's continuing civil disobedience has entered its ninth day, with protesters continuing to block roads and shutting down government buildings. The Shura Council approved at its meeting yesterday evening under the chairmanship of Dr Ahmed Fahmy, the president of the Council, the draft of law submitted by the Government to reopen Port Said's Free Zone. Member of financial and economic committee at the Shura council Kamal Beshara said that the draft law was received by the Shura Council two months ago, but it had only been put up for discussion after the recent unrest in Port Said. “This means that decisions are taken after political events, and not as a result of any plans by the government. We have asked the Shura Council to study this law again as it has been 37 years since it was last revised," he said. Beshara believes this new draft law has been accepted only to placate Port Said's angry citizens, but that “it is not enough to meet all their demands and must bear real fruit if it is truly to achieve justice for these people." Commenting on the current divisive political atmosphere within the country, he said: “Egypt is already divided between supporters and opponents of the government, and this requires a clear political vision to solve all these problems. The economic situation is already in a bad state and will become even worse if the unrest continues." “The political leadership doesn't even recognise that a problem exists," he continued. “So how can they begin to solve the problems?"
