CAIRO: A Damietta drone strike set fire to two gas vessels at Egypt’s Mediterranean port on July 29, the Cabinet said, with no casualties or claim of responsibility reported.
The Cabinet announced the findings on July 30 after authorities completed a preliminary investigation. It said investigators continued working to establish the circumstances and protect Egypt’s national security.
Three trading sources told Reuters that the drone struck the floating storage and regasification unit Emergo’s Winter. The resulting fire then spread to the nearby Gas Log Salem.
British maritime security company Ambrey initially identified a drone strike on the US-owned vessel. Separately, maritime risk group Vanguard said an unidentified projectile hit the Emergo’s starboard side.
Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said firefighting and security teams brought the fires under control through established emergency procedures. Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi visited the port to oversee the response.
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Emergo’s Infrastructure, a US-based company, owns Emergo’s Winter, which has a storage capacity of 138,250 cubic meters of gas. Singapore-based Wilhelmsen Ship Management handles its technical, safety and commercial operations.
Reuters verified the port and vessel identities through ship-tracking data, infrastructure, satellite images and archived photographs.
The New York Times reported that two unnamed Iranian sources said the drone came from Iran. However, they did not identify the operator, and Egyptian authorities have not publicly linked Iran or any armed group to the attack.
The Damietta drone strike followed an Iranian missile attack on US forces in Jordan and joint US-Saudi strikes against Iran-aligned groups in Iraq.
