Egypt Confirms Drone Attack Caused Fires at Damietta Port

The Egyptian cabinet confirmed that a drone caused fires on two gas vessels at the Mediterranean port of Damietta. This confirmation clarifies that the blaze, which began Wednesday, was an attack rather than an accident. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident.

The fire affected the Energos Winter, a floating storage and regasification unit owned by a United States firm, and spread to another vessel called the Gaslog Salem. According to Egypt's petroleum ministry, firefighting and security teams dealt with the fires immediately, and there were no injuries or fatalities. The Energos Winter was reportedly struck on its starboard side.

The attack occurred during a period of heightened regional tension. It followed a missile attack by Iran against United States forces in Jordan and strikes by Washington and Saudi Arabia against paramilitary groups backed by Iran in Iraq. Additionally, Yemen's Houthi group declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.

Analysts from ElAdl Studies noted that the Energos Winter provides approximately 7 percent of Egypt's daily gas consumption and 16 percent of its total LNG receiving capacity. While the outage is not expected to create an immediate supply gap, it reduces spare capacity during peak summer demand. To manage this, Egypt may maximize other regasification units or increase the use of fuel oil as backup fuel.