Preliminary investigations found that a drone caused the fire involving two gas vessels at Damietta Port, the Egyptian Cabinet said on Thursday. No party has claimed responsibility, and authorities have not identified who operated the drone.
Egyptian authorities confirmed on Thursday, 30 July, that a drone caused the fire involving two gas vessels at Damietta Port the previous day.
The announcement followed preliminary investigations conducted after emergency teams brought the fire under control, according to a statement from the Egyptian Cabinet.
“After controlling the fire that two ships were subjected to in Damietta Port on July 29, 2026, and following up on the preliminary investigations into the incident by the relevant authorities, it has been revealed that it was caused by a drone,” the Cabinet said.
No party has claimed responsibility for the incident, the statement added.
Authorities are continuing their investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding what happened and to take the necessary measures to protect Egypt’s interests and national security. The statement did not identify who operated the drone, where it originated or whether the vessels were its intended targets.
The confirmation represents an update to the government’s initial account of the incident.
On Wednesday, Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources announced that a fire had broken out involving a regasification vessel and a gas storage vessel at the Mediterranean port. The ministry said emergency response procedures were activated immediately and that firefighting and security teams worked with the relevant authorities to contain the blaze.
No injuries or fatalities were reported.
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawi travelled to the site to oversee the emergency response and ensure that safety procedures were being implemented, according to the ministry. Technical teams were also tasked with assessing the consequences of the incident.
Before the Cabinet’s confirmation, Reuters had reported that British maritime-security firm Ambrey assessed that a drone had struck a gas storage vessel at the port. The news agency cited trading sources as saying that the fire began aboard the Energos Winter and spread to the nearby GasLog Salem.
Reuters also cited separate security sources who assessed a drone as the likely cause. At the time, Egyptian authorities had confirmed the fire but had not publicly announced its cause.
The Cabinet’s latest statement confirms the involvement of a drone but does not assign responsibility to any country, organisation or individual. It also does not publicly establish a motive or connect the incident to any of the parties involved in ongoing regional hostilities.
When asked about the incident by reporters, US President Trump said he had been briefed, describing the situation as “a little more of the same” without elaborating or publicly identifying a responsible party, nor confirming or denying whether it was an attack.
Damietta Port hosts one of Egypt’s two liquefied natural gas facilities, alongside the facility in Idku. Since 2025, the port has also been used as a hub for floating storage and regasification vessels as Egypt increased liquefied natural gas imports to reinforce domestic supplies, particularly during periods of high summer electricity demand.
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