Egypt's cabinet confirmed that a drone attack ignited fires on two liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels at the Mediterranean port of Damietta on Wednesday, one of the country's most critical energy hubs. The blaze began after an unmanned aerial vehicle struck the Energos Winter, a US-owned floating storage and regasification unit, and then spread to the nearby Greek-owned tanker GasLog Salem.
Videos verified on social media captured thick black smoke billowing from the port as tugboats worked to extinguish the flames. Egyptian authorities reported that the fires were ultimately contained and no casualties were recorded. Both ships later left the port and moved offshore, according to ship tracking data. The port continued operations at full capacity on Thursday.
No Claim of Responsibility
The cabinet statement noted that no party had claimed responsibility for the attack. Authorities are continuing investigations and taking necessary measures to protect Egypt's interests and national security. The origin of the drone and those behind it remain unclear.
US President Suggests Iran Role
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he had been briefed on the situation and implied Iran or its proxies were responsible, stating, "It's a little more of the same. But it's going to be straightening out." While no direct link has been established, Iranian forces and Iran-backed groups have previously attacked tankers in the Gulf and Red Sea, as well as energy infrastructure across Arab countries. Egypt, a US ally, had not been directly targeted by Iran before.
Regional Escalation
The Damietta incident occurred amid sharply rising tensions across the Middle East. Hours earlier, US and Saudi forces launched joint air strikes against Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, accusing them of hitting Saudi oil facilities with drones at least 30 times in recent days, allegedly at the direction of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an umbrella group dominated by Iran-aligned Shia militias, said at least 20 of its fighters were killed in those strikes and condemned the action as an extremely serious escalation. Iran's foreign ministry also denounced the strikes and warned of dangerous consequences.
Later on Wednesday night, the US carried out what it described as a heavy wave of strikes on Iran itself, claiming it was in response to an attempted surprise missile attack on American military facilities in Jordan.
