A drone hit a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Wednesday, in an initial assessment that could signal a further spread of conflict across the Middle East.
A statement from Egypt’s petroleum ministry confirmed a fire at the port but made no mention of a drone attack and did not provide a cause for the incident.
Port services firm Inchcape said in a separate message two gas tankers had caught fire at Damietta.
The drone hit floating storage tanker Energos Winter, causing a fire that spread to another vessel, Gaslog Salem, three trading sources familiar with the incident said. Two separate security sources said the likely cause of the blast was assessed as a drone strike.
The Energos Winter was reportedly struck by an unidentified projectile on its starboard side, causing a fire that was extinguished, British maritime risk management group Vanguard said.
It was unclear who was responsible for the incident, which occurred shortly after Iran carried out a missile attack against U.S. forces in Jordan, and Washington and Saudi Arabia struck Iran-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq.
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U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to retaliate against Iran and Yemen’s Houthi group declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, apparently spreading the conflict to its widest since U.S. and Israel started bombing Iran in February.
