The shipping industry has reacted to the continuing unrest in several Egyptian cities.

The Suez Canal has remained open despite the protests in several cities in the country.

South Korea's Hanjin Shipping announced the re-routing of some of its ships and has found alternative refuelling arrangements.

The decision was attributed to the lack of staff at its Port Said and Alexandria operations.

This follows action on Monday by two other firms, DP World and AP Moller-Maersk, who suspended work in the country,.

Maersk shipping group issued a statement in which it stated that it has not moved out of the country entirely,

"We have not moved staff out of Egypt and Maersk Line has not imposed any restrictions on cargo to/from Egypt".

The situation in the country has also caused credit rating agencies Fitch, Moody's and Standard & Poor's to downgrade their ratings.

Moody's downgraded Egypt's debt rating from Ba1 to Ba2.

Although the canal is still open, fears over possible disruptions to the supply caused the price of Brent crude oil to trade at approximately $100 a barrel on Monday.

This is the first time that the price of Brent crude oil has broken the $100 mark in two years.