An explosion and subsequent fire struck a regasification vessel and a floating storage unit moored at the Damietta port along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, according to statements released Wednesday by the Egyptian government and maritime security agencies. The incident, which caused no casualties, triggered contrasting public accounts over its origins as international monitoring firms and local security sources reported a drone strike.
Emergency Response and Port Operations at Damietta
The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum confirmed in an official statement that emergency response teams “treated the situation of inmediato” and contained the blaze without recording any deaths or injuries. The ministry did not immediately release an explanation regarding the underlying cause of the fire or specify the full extent of the structural damage.
According to maritime services provider Inchcape, cited by Al Jazeera, the explosion occurred directly “in the terminal de Gas Natural Licuado durante las operaciones de descarga” of liquefied natural gas. Inchcape stated that the involved vessels were safely towed away from the port area, and port operations were expected to resume overnight at alternative berths and terminals.
The Damietta terminal serves as a critical hub for Egypt’s natural gas import and export network, hosting operations managed by several foreign energy firms. The Egyptian authorities have not yet clarified whether the wider terminal infrastructure sustained damage during the incident.
Conflicting Accounts Over Drone Involvement
While the Egyptian government’s official statements omitted the cause of the fire, international reporting and local security channels pointed to an external aerial attack. Reuters reported that a drone of unknown origin targeted one of the two vessels, which were described as American-flagged or associated.
A high-ranking Egyptian security source, speaking anonymously to the EFE news agency, confirmed that the fire was initiated “por un dron de origen y afiliciación desconocido” targeting an American storage tank within the port facility. The same security source explicitly ruled out involvement by Israel, Iran, or Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Maritime security firm Ambrey was the first to sound the alarm, reporting that a United States-flagged storage vessel had been struck by an unmanned aerial vehicle, though the company did not identify the operator or launch site of the drone.
Security Context and Official Guidance
Egyptian military regulations strictly prohibit the unauthorized use of drones across the country, maintaining heightened surveillance over strategic national assets such as ports, airports, and energy installations. Armed sunni militant groups operating in Egypt have historically targeted energy infrastructure, notably the gas pipelines traversing the Sinai Peninsula following the 2011 revolution, though such attacks have been rare in recent years. Egypt does not host active Shiite or pro-Iranian armed factions.
Following the incident, the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum urged both media outlets and social media users to rely exclusively on official government communiqués for verified information regarding the situation at the Damietta port.
