A drone struck a US-owned liquefied natural gas vessel at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta on Wednesday, triggering a fire that spread to a second ship, in what would be the first attack on Egyptian soil since the war between Iran and the US began in February.
Egypt's cabinet confirmed on Thursday morning that "preliminary investigations by the relevant authorities found that the incident was caused by a drone," making it the first official confirmation of the attack's nature.
No side has claimed responsibility at this time, and an investigation remains ongoing.
In the meantime, authorities were taking measures "to protect Egypt's interests and national security," the cabinet said.
Egypt's Petroleum Ministry had earlier confirmed the fire without identifying the cause. Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi travelled to the port to oversee the response.
The drone struck the Energos Winter, a Marshall Islands-flagged floating storage and regasification unit owned by US company New Fortress Energy, on its starboard side at approximately 3:20 pm CET, according to maritime security firm Ambrey and British firm Vanguard.
The fire spread to the nearby Bermuda-flagged LNG tanker Gaslog Salem. Both crews were evacuated. The fire was brought under control and no injuries were reported. Both vessels were subsequently moved offshore for assessment.
Tehran touts map of targets
Egyptian authorities and multiple maritime sources confirmed that Iranian state television had identified Damietta as a possible target for "retaliation against Ukrainian interests" two days earlier, following a Ukrainian strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea over the weekend.
The map shown on state-run TV described Damietta as "a gateway for gas exports to Europe." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that Iran "does not seek escalation" but was demanding "compensation" from Kyiv.
Energy analytics firm Kpler said the attack disrupted operations at the terminal and forced both vessels to move offshore.
Former head of the Damietta Port Authority, Major General Ayman Salah, said that the regasification process occurs at very high pressure and that any leak could cause a fire.
The incident comes as the region enters one of its most volatile periods since the war began.
On Wednesday, the IRGC launched ballistic missiles at US forces in Jordan, the US and Saudi Arabia struck Iran-linked militia sites across Iraq, and Yemen's Houthi group declared a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, raising fears of the widest simultaneous regional escalation since the war began on 28 February.
Egypt has so far been spared from attacks during the US-Iran war, maintaining relations with both Washington and Tehran.
Egypt's Suez Canal, through which roughly 12% of global trade normally passes, has already seen a dramatic drop in traffic since the war began.
It is now further imperilled by the reported plans by Yemen's Houthi group to impose a toll on passing cargo ships and threats of strikes on noncompliant vessels, which could severely reduce the traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait in the Red Sea.
Egypt had previously been an LNG exporter — Damietta hosted one of the Arabic-speaking world's first LNG export terminals — but declining domestic gas production turned the country into a net importer.
