Egypt confirms drone hit two gas ships at Damietta

Egypt said a drone strike hit two ships at the Mediterranean Port of Damietta on Wednesday, sparking fires on LNG vessels at a key gas hub. No group has claimed responsibility. The blaze was contained with no injuries reported, but the attack widens Middle East energy risks near the Suez Canal.

Key Takeaways

• Egypt confirmed a drone hit two vessels at Damietta, an LNG hub on the Mediterranean.
• The Energos Winter FSRU and GasLog Salem LNG tanker were damaged; fires were brought under control.
• No injuries or fatalities were reported, and no party has claimed the strike.
• The attack comes as Iran-linked actors widen hits on regional energy infrastructure.
• Spare LNG capacity falls during peak summer demand, though an immediate supply gap is not expected.

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What happened at Egypt's Damietta port?

According to Cairo, an initial investigation found that a drone attack on Wednesday caused a fire onboard two ships at Damietta. Egypt's state-owned Middle East News Agency carried the finding, and the Egyptian cabinet later confirmed the blaze resulted from an attack rather than an accident.

The fires broke out on a regasification ship and a storage vessel, Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said. Trade intelligence firm Kpler identified the damaged ships as the Energos Winter floating storage and regasification unit and the GasLog Salem LNG tanker.

British maritime security firm Ambrey had initially assessed that a drone struck a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker at the port. Trading sources said the fire reportedly started on the starboard side of the Energos Winter before spreading.

The ministry said emergency teams contained the situation under approved rapid-response plans. Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi visited the site to oversee the response. Egypt's petroleum ministry confirmed no injuries or fatalities.

Which ships were hit, and how serious is the damage?

The Energos Winter is a floating storage and regasification unit owned by U.S.-based Energos Infrastructure and managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management, a Singapore-based subsidiary of Norway's Wilhelmsen Group. The GasLog Salem is an LNG tanker.

Sources indicated the vessels are expected to remain out of service for an extended period. One report cited a breach in a tank on the Energos Winter, which could prolong repairs.

Egyptian consultancy ElAdl Studies put the Energos Winter's regasification capacity at roughly 450 million cubic feet per day. That equals about 7 percent of Egypt's daily gas consumption and about 16 percent of its total LNG receiving and regasification capacity.

While the outage is not expected to create an immediate supply gap—Egypt has other import facilities and fuel options—it reduces spare capacity during peak summer demand. Possible mitigations include maximizing other regasification units, using more fuel oil as backup, tapping renewable capacity, and, as a last resort, temporarily cutting gas to some industrial users.

Why does the Egypt drone strike matter for energy markets?

Damietta is a liquefied natural gas hub near the strategically vital Suez Canal. As CNBC reported, the strike shows energy infrastructure near the canal also faces security threats while Houthis press to control traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern Red Sea.

The unclaimed attack comes as Iran, Houthi allies in Yemen, and Iraqi militias have widened strikes on energy infrastructure across the region. Crude oil futures were trading slightly lower Thursday despite the escalation, CNBC noted.

The Independent reported the incident arrived at a sensitive moment for Egypt's gas market. After becoming an LNG exporter following the Zohr offshore field, Egypt has recently reverted to being a significant LNG buyer amid declining domestic production and rising demand. Any prolonged disruption could affect LNG traders, demand, and spot prices.

Separately, Houthis declared a maritime embargo of Saudi Arabia last week, jeopardizing energy exports through the Red Sea. Saudis can redirect some oil via a pipeline across Egypt, but Riyadh would need to unload oil at the pipeline and retrieve cargo on the Mediterranean because the Suez Canal is too shallow for fully loaded supertankers.

Who is behind the attack, and what else is escalating?

No one has claimed responsibility. Authorities launched an investigation and said they are implementing measures to safeguard national security.

The drone attack unfolded shortly after Iran launched a missile strike against U.S. forces in Jordan, and after retaliatory actions by Washington and Saudi Arabia against Iran-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq, The Independent reported.

CNBC said the U.S. launched a renewed wave of strikes against Iran overnight in retaliation for an attempted surprise missile attack by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on American forces in the Middle East. Houthis claimed Monday they targeted pipeline infrastructure in Saudi Arabia that moves oil to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

Iran-allied militias in Iraq also launched drones at oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh and Eastern regions this week. U.S. and Saudi warplanes carried out joint strikes Tuesday against Iraqi militias in retaliation.

Yemen's Houthi group also declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, signaling a wider conflict since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran in February, according to The Independent. U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened retaliation against Iran after the missile strike on U.S. forces.

Taken together, the Damietta strike marks a new widening of attacks on energy infrastructure into Egypt's Mediterranean coast, extending pressure on regional energy routes that matter for shipping, gas imports, and market volatility.