Drone attack hits Egypt's Mediterranean energy hub

A drone hit a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Wednesday, citing an initial assessment of the incident.

A statement from Egypt's petroleum ministry confirmed a fire at the port but made no mention of a drone attack.

Port services firm Inchcape said in a separate message two gas tankers had caught fire at Damietta.

The drone hit floating storage tanker Energos Winter, causing a fire that then spread to another vessel, Gaslog Salem, three trading sources familiar with the incident said. Two separate security sources said the likely cause of the blast was assessed as a drone strike, in what could signal a further spread of conflict across the Middle East.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the incident.

The Energos Winter is a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) with storage capacity of 138,250 cubic metres. It is owned by U.S.-based firm Energos Infrastructure. Its technical, safety and commercial operations are managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management, also a U.S. company.

Egypt's petroleum ministry said in a statement a fire broke out on a gasification vessel and a storage vessel at Damietta port and was dealt with immediately under approved emergency response plans by firefighting and security teams.

Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi went to the site to oversee response efforts, it said. The fire caused no injuries or fatalities and emergency and technical teams were continuing to work on the response and assess the impact of the incident, the statement added.