RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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A drone hit a US-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Wednesday, citing an initial assessment of the incident.
The strike raised fears that the war with Iran, which has seen strikes across the region, could expand further. A statement from Egypt's petroleum ministry confirmed a fire at the port but made no mention of a drone attack.
Port services firm Inchcape said in a separate message that two gas tankers had caught fire at Damietta.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident.
Two security sources said the likely cause of the blast was assessed as a drone strike, in what could signal a further spread of the conflict.
The drone hit floating storage tanker Energos Winter, causing a fire that then spread to another vessel, Gaslog Salem, three other sources familiar with the incident said.
Egypt's petroleum ministry said in a statement a fire broke out on a gasification vessel and a storage vessel at Damietta port and was dealt with immediately under approved emergency response plans by firefighting and security teams.
A US owned LNG floating storage facility registered under the Marshall Islands flag was reportedly hit by at least one drone in Damietta, Egypt. pic.twitter.com/iOJljj9AYt
— MENA OSINT (@ArabiaPost) July 29, 2026
Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi went to the site to oversee response efforts, it said. "The situation was handled immediately in accordance with emergency and rapid response plans," the ministry said, without identifying the cause of the blaze.
The fire caused no injuries or fatalities, and emergency and technical teams were continuing to work on the response and assess the impact of the incident, the statement added.
The explosion occurred while the Middle East is on high alert, as Iranian missiles and drones have targeted a number of Arab countries as the war, which began with US-Israeli strikes in late February, continues with no clear resolution in view. Iran's Houthi allies in Yemen have also recently hit Saudi energy facilities.
Egypt has until now not been hit by Iranian drone strikes.
The Energos Winter is a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) with a storage capacity of 138,250 cubic meters. It is owned by US-based firm Energos Infrastructure. Its technical, safety, and commercial operations are managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management, also a US company.
The war with Iran has been draining for all of us in Israel. But when I heard about a high casualty incident – ballistic missile impacts in Arad and Dimona that left nearly 200 people wounded – I drank a cup of coffee, packed a bag, and headed south.
There, I spoke with Shilgit, the head of an after-school program for underprivileged youth. Standing outside her destroyed center, Shilgit said it was a miracle that no children were hurt and spoke about the community coming together in the hours since.
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