Maritime Security Firm Ambrey Confirms Attack On Floating Storage Tanker At Mediterranean Port As Egypt Petroleum Ministry Acknowledges Fire But Omits Cause And War Spreads Beyond Gulf
According to the New York Times, a drone struck the US-owned floating LNG storage tanker Energos Winter (IMO 9256614) at Egypt’s Mediterranean port of Damietta on July 29, 2026, causing a fire that spread to a second vessel, the Gaslog Salem (IMO 9638915). British maritime security firm Ambrey confirmed the assessment. Two security sources said the likely cause was an unidentified drone that struck the Energos Winter on its starboard side.
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.
The attack marks a dramatic geographic expansion of the war. An interim ceasefire agreement had collapsed in recent weeks over renewed fighting in the Strait of Hormuz, and mediators are “still trying with both sides” to restore calm. The Houthis have declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, attacked Aramco’s Abqaiq facility, and Iraq’s Iran-backed militias have been accused of firing drones against Saudi oil facilities over the preceding days.
Damietta is a Mediterranean LNG export hub at the northern mouth of the Suez Canal. A strike on an LNG facility at this location outside the Red Sea entirely signals the war is no longer contained to Gulf waterways.
When the fire reaches the Mediterranean, the geography of this conflict has changed. Check out our previous coverage of the US-Iran war on The Trusted Times.
