Fire breaks out on gas tankers at Egypt's Damietta Port following reported drone strike

On July 29, 2026, a reported drone strike hit the US-owned gas storage tanker Energos Winter at Egypt's Damietta port, causing a fire that spread to the Gaslog Salem. While maritime security firms and anonymous Iranian sources attribute the blast to a drone attack amid escalating regional tensions between the US, Iran, and Yemen's Houthi group, Egypt's petroleum ministry confirmed the fire but omitted any mention of a drone strike. No injuries were reported, and both vessels were moved away to allow port operations to resume.

Damietta port drone strike

• ▪Maritime security firm Ambrey and two other marine tracking companies reported that the explosion at Damietta port was caused by a drone attack
• ▪A drone strike hit a US-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta on July 29, 2026
• ▪No group immediately claimed responsibility for the reported drone strike at Damietta port on July 29, 2026

Regional conflict escalation

• ▪US President Donald Trump threatened retaliation against Iran, and Yemen's Houthi group declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, following the incident
• ▪The incident at Damietta port occurred following Iranian missile attacks on US bases and US-Saudi joint strikes on a Tehran-backed group in Iraq
• ▪Two anonymous Iranian sources stated the explosion was a drone attack designed to show that global shipping and energy supplies could be disrupted if Iran chose to escalate

Gas tanker fire damage

• ▪The drone strike hit the floating storage tanker Energos Winter on its starboard side, causing a fire that spread to another vessel, the Gaslog Salem
• ▪The Energos Winter is a floating storage and regasification unit with a storage capacity of 138,250 cubic meters, owned by US-based Energos Infrastructure
• ▪The incident is unlikely to significantly affect global energy markets because Egypt is not a major exporter of natural gas

Emergency response operations

• ▪Egyptian Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi went to the Damietta port to oversee the emergency response and assess the impact of the incident
• ▪Both vessels were moved away from the Damietta port, and port operations at other berths and terminals were expected to resume overnight
• ▪Crew members were evacuated from the affected vessels, and the fire was brought under control and extinguished without causing any injuries or deaths

Conflicting official accounts

• ▪Egypt's petroleum ministry confirmed the fire at Damietta port but made no mention of a drone attack or the cause of the incident in its official statements
• ▪While maritime security firms and security sources assessed the blast as a drone strike, there was no official confirmation from Egyptian authorities or the ships' owners

US-owned vessel targeted

• ▪One of the two ships that caught fire, the Energos Winter, is a US-owned natural gas storage tanker
• ▪The technical, safety, and commercial operations of the Energos Winter are managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management, a US company