Egyptian authorities are playing down the attack on a shipping vessel as it passed through the Suez Canal, as the work of individuals and not of a terrorist organization.  Nevertheless, it remains the first incident confirmed by officials involving a ship in Suez.

According to Egyptian security, three people opened fire with machine guns on the Chinese-owned, Panamanian-registered container ship Cosco Asia as it passed north to the Mediterranean.  Those three were promptly arrested.  Over the weekend, the Canal authority described the attack as “terrorism”.

But it shows the difficulty Egypt’s interim government is having with the growing problem of Islamists in the Sinai Peninsula.  Former president Mohammed Morsi’s appearance of tacit support for those militants was one of the complaints leading to his downfall.

Some in the world of counter terrorism believe that despite the Egyptian claims, there are nefarious organizations out there poking and prodding, looking for weaknesses to strike at.

“The attack on the Cosco Asia by terrorists, most likely foreigners or Egyptians working with foreigners from bases in north east Sinai, tells us that similar attacks by other foreign terrorists or Egyptians working with them, attacks launched by the land and meant to disrupt international commerce, are possible and can be successful,” said Michael Frodl of U.S.-based consultancy C-Level Maritime Risks.