Drone strike sets 2 gas tankers ablaze at Egypt’s Damietta port
Why it matters: The blast hit a US-owned vessel, caused no casualties and added to a wider Middle East escalation that drove oil prices higher.
A suspected drone strike hit the US-owned floating gas storage vessel Energos Winter at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta on Tuesday, sparking a fire that spread to a second tanker, Gaslog Salem. Egypt’s petroleum ministry confirmed a fire on a gasification vessel and a storage vessel and said emergency crews quickly contained it, with no injuries or deaths reported. Maritime security firm Ambrey and other security and trading sources assessed the blast as a drone attack, though Egyptian officials did not identify a cause. The incident came as fighting widened across the region, including Iranian missile fire at US forces in Jordan and US-Saudi strikes on Iran-backed groups in Iraq.