Fire on gas vessels at Egypt's Damietta port sparks debate over drone attack

A fire involving two gas vessels at Egypt's Damietta port has prompted conflicting reports over whether the incident was caused by a drone strike or an onboard technical fault. Egyptian authorities said there were no casualties.

Conflicting accounts over cause

Initial reports from British maritime security firm Ambrey and several trading and security sources said a drone struck the U.S.-owned floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Energos Winter, triggering a fire that spread to the LNG carrier GasLog Salem. No group immediately claimed responsibility. 

However, Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum confirmed only that a fire had broken out aboard a regasification vessel and a storage vessel at Damietta port, saying emergency response teams quickly brought the blaze under control. The ministry made no reference to any attack. 

Later reports citing Egyptian officials disputed claims of a drone strike, saying the port itself had not come under attack and that the fire originated in the engine room of one of the vessels. Those accounts remain at odds with Ambrey's initial assessment, and the exact cause of the incident has not been independently confirmed. 

No casualties reported

Egyptian Petroleum Minister Karim Badawī travelled to the port to oversee the emergency response, according to the ministry.

Officials said there were no injuries or fatalities, while emergency and technical teams continued assessing the damage and investigating the cause of the fire. 

Port services company Inchcape also reported that two gas tankers caught fire at Damietta.

Strategic energy facility

The Energos Winter is a floating storage and regasification unit with a storage capacity of 138,250 cubic metres. It is owned by U.S.-based Energos Infrastructure, while its technical, safety and commercial operations are managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management.

If confirmed as an attack, the incident would mark a significant expansion of regional security risks affecting energy infrastructure in the eastern Mediterranean. Egyptian officials, however, have so far stopped short of describing the fire as the result of hostile action.

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Egypt drones Damietta Fire ships