A drone struck the U.S.-owned gas tanker Energos Winter at Egypt’s Damietta port on Wednesday evening, setting it ablaze before the flames spread to a second tanker, Gaslog Salem, according to Reuters and maritime security firm Ambrey.
Two security sources told Reuters that the tankers were hit by a drone, while three shipping industry sources identified Energos Winter as the vessel struck. Ambrey said the crews were evacuated and the fire was brought under control. No casualties were reported, and no country or organization has claimed responsibility.
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The Energos Winter gas tanker, reportedly struck by a drone at Egypt’s Damietta port
(Photo: Energos)
Damietta, located in the northern Nile Delta, had been named by Iranian television just two days earlier as a possible target for retaliation against Ukrainian interests following Kyiv’s unusual strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea over the weekend.
Iranian television displayed a map of possible targets across the Middle East and beyond under the headline: “What could be the targets of Iran’s revenge against Ukraine?” Damietta port was marked alongside a description of its liquefied natural gas capacity and role as an export gateway to Europe. “Damietta LNG: Production capacity of 5.2 million tons of liquefied gas a year. A gateway for gas exports to Europe,” the map said.
Iranian media had threatened retaliation against assets connected to European oil and gas supplies after the Ukrainian strike. Kyiv said the Iranian vessel targeted in the Caspian Sea had been involved in transporting weapons to Russia, while Tehran said one Iranian sailor was killed. The apparent attack in Egypt came despite an attempt by Iran and Ukraine to prevent further escalation. The countries’ foreign ministers spoke Tuesday, after which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran “does not seek escalation” but was demanding “compensation” from Kyiv.
Egypt’s Damietta port
(Photo: SRStudio/shutterstock)
Egyptian media did not initially describe the Damietta incident as an attack, reporting only that authorities were investigating its cause. Some Egyptian reports said the fire began in the engine room of one of the ships and had been brought under control. Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry confirmed only that a fire had broken out aboard “vessels located at Damietta port” and said the incident was handled immediately under established emergency plans. “The incident was dealt with immediately in accordance with emergency plans, through the relevant authorities and the firefighting and security teams at the site,” the ministry said.
The ministry stressed that there were no casualties but did not say whether the tankers or port infrastructure had sustained damage. Emergency teams were working with the relevant authorities to complete the necessary operations and assess the consequences of the incident, it added. The ministry called on media outlets and social media users to rely only on its official statements.
There was no immediate evidence connecting Iran to the drone strike, and Tehran had not claimed responsibility. However, if Iran or one of its proxies was responsible, the attack would represent a dramatic expansion of the regional conflict. Egypt had until now remained largely outside the wave of Iranian retaliatory attacks targeting countries across the Middle East.
Iranian television’s ‘revenge targets’ map, published two days earlier, also marked Egypt’s Damietta port
Concern over a broader regional escalation has grown following recent drone attacks in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh accused pro-Iranian militias in Iraq of carrying out the attacks, though the groups denied involvement and Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility. Saudi Arabia joined the United States overnight Tuesday in retaliatory strikes against militia targets in Iraq, reportedly killing about 20 people. At least four Iranian Revolutionary Guards “advisers” were reported killed, though Iraqi sources cited by The Associated Press said six Iranians had died.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization for pro-Iranian militias, threatened retaliation Wednesday, saying its response to the “American enemy” was inevitable and could target U.S. “agents” in Saudi Arabia. The organization gave the Iraqi government until August 6 to demonstrate that it could defend the country’s sovereignty.
U.S. President Donald Trump has meanwhile threatened to renew attacks against Iran after Tehran launched what Washington described as a surprise attack on an American base in Jordan overnight. Five Iranian missiles were intercepted. In an interview with Fox News, Trump promised a severe U.S. military response, saying: “We’re going to beat the f***ing s*** out of them.”