A drone reportedly struck a US-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta on Wednesday, sparking a fire that spread to a second vessel, according to maritime security firms and trading sources.
British maritime security company Ambrey said its initial assessment indicated that a drone had hit the Energos Winter, a floating gas storage and regasification vessel docked at the port.
Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry confirmed that a fire had broken out aboard a gasification vessel and a storage tanker at Damietta, but did not mention a drone strike or provide a cause for the incident.
The ministry said firefighting and security teams brought the blaze under control using established emergency procedures. No injuries or fatalities were reported.
Port services company Inchcape said two gas tankers had caught fire.
Three trading sources familiar with the incident said the Energos Winter was struck first and that the flames later spread to the Gaslog Salem. Two security sources also said the blast was believed to have been caused by a drone strike.
Maritime risk management firm Vanguard said the Energos Winter was reportedly hit by an unidentified projectile on its starboard side, causing a fire that was subsequently extinguished.
It remained unclear who was responsible for the incident.
The reported strike came shortly after Iran launched missiles at US forces in Jordan and the United States and Saudi Arabia carried out attacks against Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, raising fears that the widening regional conflict could spread to new areas.
US President Donald Trump has threatened retaliation against Iran, while Yemen’s Houthi group has announced what it described as a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia.
Reuters verified footage of the fire using visible port infrastructure, storage tanks, ship-tracking data and satellite imagery. The vessels were identified as the Energos Winter and Gaslog Salem through features including their masts, hulls, sterns and foredecks.
The Energos Winter is a floating storage and regasification unit with capacity to hold 138,250 cubic metres of liquefied natural gas. It is owned by US-based Energos Infrastructure and managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management.
Egyptian Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi travelled to the port to oversee the emergency response, the ministry said.
Technical and emergency teams remained at the site to assess the damage and determine the impact of the incident.