A fire broke out Wednesday on vessels at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta after a British maritime security firm assessed that a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker had been hit by a drone, adding a new point of concern to the widening Iran crisis.
Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum said two vessels used for gasification and storage caught fire at the port, but reported no injuries or fatalities. The ministry said emergency crews brought the situation under control and did not identify a cause.
Al Jazeera, citing Egypt’s oil ministry and port services firm Inchcape, reported that the incident affected two ships at the LNG terminal and that port operations were expected to resume overnight at other berths and terminals.
Reuters, cited by India Today and Al Jazeera, reported that British maritime security company Ambrey assessed that a U.S.-owned floating storage tanker at Damietta was hit by a drone. India Today identified the vessel as the Energos Winter and said the fire spread to another LNG carrier, Gaslog Salem, before firefighters contained it.
No Claim Of Responsibility
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the incident. That matters: while the timing has raised fears of a wider conflict, Egyptian officials have confirmed the fire without confirming a drone strike.
The Times of Israel also reported that Ambrey assessed the incident as a drone strike, while noting that Egypt’s petroleum ministry made no mention of a drone attack. The outlet said the blast caused a fire aboard the U.S.-owned tanker and raised fears that the Middle East war could expand further.
Damietta is a major LNG hub on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, outside the main Gulf and Red Sea flashpoints that have dominated the current crisis. A confirmed attack there would mark a serious expansion of pressure on regional energy infrastructure.
Wider Crisis Reignites
The Damietta incident came on the same day that U.S. and Saudi forces struck Iran-backed militants in Iraq and Iran launched missiles toward U.S. forces in the region, according to Reuters and other outlets. CBS News reported that President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the Egyptian port incident and repeated that the United States would respond hard to Iran after the latest regional attacks.
Oil and shipping markets were already under strain from fighting around the Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea threats, and renewed U.S.-Iran hostilities. Even without a confirmed perpetrator, the Damietta fire adds another vulnerable energy site to a crisis that is moving faster than diplomacy can contain.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Reuters via India Today, CBS News, The Times of Israel.