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Fire on ships at Egyptian port resulted from drone, no claim of responsibility: Cabinet
Investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident
- PUBLISHED: Thu 30 Jul 2026, 11:58 AM UPDATED: Thu 30 Jul 2026, 12:13 PM
[Editor's Note: For the latest updates on US-Iran hostilities since a 14-point deal was signed on June 17, follow the Khaleej Times live blog.]
A fire that broke out on two ships at Egypt Damietta Port on Wednesday, July 29, resulted from a drone, the Egyptian Cabinet said in a statement on Thursday after initial investigations into the incident. Authorities confirmed that the blaze was brought under control.
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"No party has claimed responsibility for the incident," the Cabinet clarified, adding that relevant authorities are continuing their investigations to determine the circumstances surrounding the fire and to take the necessary measures to safeguard Egypt’s interests and national security.
On Wednesday, British maritime security firm Ambrey reported that a drone hit a US owned gas storage tanker at Damietta. A statement from Egypt's petroleum ministry confirmed a fire at the port but made no mention of a drone attack and did not provide a cause for the incident.
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Port services firm Inchcape said in a separate message two gas tankers had caught fire at Damietta. The drone hit floating storage tanker Energos Winter, causing a fire that spread to another vessel, Gaslog Salem, three trading sources familiar with the incident said.
The Energos Winter was reportedly struck by an unidentified projectile on its starboard side, causing a fire that was extinguished, British maritime risk management group Vanguard said.
Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi visited the site to oversee response efforts, it said. 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 attack occurred shortly after Iran carried out a missile attack against US forces in Jordan, and Washington and Saudi Arabia struck Iran-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq.
The identity of the vessels was confirmed as "ENERGOS WINTER (IMO: 9256614)" and "GASLOG SALEM (IMO: 9638915)" by the mast, stern, hull and foredeck that matched archive imagery. The date was confirmed by corroborating media reports and Egypt's petroleum ministry confirmed a fire at the port. No older versions of the videos were found posted online before July 29.
The Energos Winter is a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) with storage capacity of 138,250 cubic metres. It is owned by U.S.-based firm Energos Infrastructure. Its technical, safety and commercial operations are managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management, also a US company.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Yasmin Hussein is an Assistant Digital Editor who believes that every news story carries a human element. Her motto is 'get it first, but first get it right'.