Drone Strikes US-Owned Tanker at Egypt's Damietta Port, Oil Prices Surge Past $90 as Egypt Denies Attack

A drone allegedly struck a US‑owned gas storage tanker at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta on Wednesday, sparking a fire on two vessels and sending global oil prices above £71 ($90) a barrel, according to maritime security reports.

The incident came against a backdrop of rising tensions across the Middle East, with Iran launching missile strikes at American forces in Jordan and the US and Saudi Arabia targeting Iran‑backed paramilitaries in Iraq.

The reported drone strike on the US‑owned tanker at Damietta, which coincided with a jump in oil prices even as Egypt denied an attack took place, has raised fresh concerns about the risk to regional shipping and energy supplies.

Conflicting Reports Over Damietta Port Incident

The suspected drone is reported to have hit the Energos Winter, a floating storage and regasification unit, on its starboard side. Three trading sources familiar with the situation said the resulting fire engulfed the vessel before spreading to the nearby Gaslog Salem.

British risk management group Vanguard assessed that an unidentified projectile caused the initial blaze.

British maritime security firm Ambrey said all crew members were safely evacuated. The company reported that emergency teams managed to extinguish the flames, and that no organisation had so far claimed responsibility for the incident.

Port services provider Inchcape separately reported that two gas tankers caught fire at the facility. Reuters journalists later verified the location of the vessels by matching ship‑tracking data, port infrastructure and storage tanks with archive satellite imagery.

The mast, hull, stern and foredeck of the Energos Winter and Gaslog Salem matched visual evidence from the scene, supporting the authenticity of the footage circulating online. None of the video material was found to have appeared on the internet before 29 July, the date of the incident.

Egypt Denies Attack as Regional Tensions Mount

Despite private security assessments indicating a possible drone strike, Egyptian authorities have rejected that characterisation. The petroleum ministry issued a statement confirming that a fire had broken out on a gasification vessel and a storage ship, but did not refer to any drone, missile or unidentified projectile.

Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi travelled to the site to oversee the emergency response. The ministry said firefighting and security teams dealt with the incident immediately under approved contingency protocols, reporting no injuries or fatalities. Government officials and technical experts are continuing to assess the impact and structural damage caused by the fire.

The Energos Winter, which has a storage capacity of 138,250 cubic metres, is owned by US‑based Energos Infrastructure and operates under the technical, safety and commercial management of Wilhelmsen Ship Management, a Norwegian maritime group.

The apparent targeting or involvement of a major US commercial energy asset has unsettled global commodities markets and underlined security risks for international shipping in the region.

The Damietta incident unfolded shortly after US President Donald Trump threatened retaliation against Iran following deadly assaults on American forces in Jordan.

In parallel with the wider geopolitical tension, Yemen's Houthi movement announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia. Analysts have described the recent series of military moves as the broadest spread of regional conflict since American and Israeli forces began bombing Iran in February.

At this stage, it is not clear whether the fire at Damietta was caused by a mechanical failure or by a deliberate strike. Security specialists have warned that, if evidence confirms an attack on a US‑owned tanker, the international response could have implications for key maritime trade routes.

Until investigators release physical evidence from the hull of the Energos Winter, the cause of the blaze remains disputed and subject to competing accounts from security firms and Egyptian officials.