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Egypt's government confirmed Thursday that a drone strike caused the fire at the port of Damietta a day earlier. This marks the first confirmed attack on Egyptian territory since the Middle East war began, as the U.S. and Iran resumed hostilities following a brief lull in fighting.
The Egyptian Cabinet said in a statement: "After the fire that affected two vessels at Damietta Port on July 29, 2026, was brought under control, preliminary investigations by the relevant authorities found that the incident was caused by a drone."
The Cabinet said no party had claimed responsibility, and that authorities were continuing their investigation "to determine the circumstances of the incident and to take the necessary measures to preserve Egypt's interests and national security."
This confirmation follows earlier reports from British maritime security firm Ambrey, which said Wednesday that a drone had struck a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker at Damietta.
The Egyptian Cabinet's statement now confirms the drone strike as the cause, though responsibility for carrying out the attack remains unclaimed and unattributed to any party.
Authorities had reported two gas ships damaged in Wednesday's fire.
Kpler identified the vessels as the Energos Winter storage and regasification vessel and the GasLog Salem tanker, saying both had been moved offshore following the incident.
Three trading sources familiar with the incident told Reuters that a drone struck the Energos Winter, causing a fire that spread to the GasLog Salem.
British maritime risk group Vanguard said the Energos Winter was struck by an unidentified projectile on its starboard side, causing a fire that was subsequently extinguished.
Reuters said it was able to verify the identity of the vessels shown in video posted on social media by matching the mast, stern, hull and foredeck against archive imagery, and confirmed the location using port infrastructure, storage tanks and ship-tracking data matched against archive and satellite imagery.
According to Reuters, the Energos Winter is a floating storage and regasification unit with a capacity of 138,250 cubic meters, owned by U.S.-based Energos Infrastructure, with technical, safety and commercial operations managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management, a Singapore-based subsidiary of Norway's Wilhelmsen Group.
The former head of the Damietta Port Authority, Maj. Gen. Ayman Salah, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the regasification vessel had been moored next to the LNG tanker in the harbor, explaining that the regasification process occurs under very high pressure, meaning any leak could lead to a fire.
The Damietta Port Authority said Thursday that vessel traffic, cargo operations and maritime services were continuing without interruption following the incident.
"Various terminals and berths continue to receive and dispatch vessels regularly, while the loading, unloading and the handling of all types of cargo are proceeding at the designated operational rates," the state-run authority said.
Wednesday's attack occurred as the U.S. and Iran returned to hostilities following a brief lull in fighting that had been aimed at reviving negotiations.
Iran fired a salvo of missiles at U.S. assets in Jordan, while Washington responded with what CENTCOM described as a "heavy wave of strikes" on Iran.
The Damietta attack further widens the war geographically, which has now seen attacks not only in the Gulf but also in the Red Sea and, with this incident, the Mediterranean
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