A drone struck the US-owned floating gas storage tanker Energos Winter at the Egyptian Mediterranean port of Damietta on July 29. The attack caused a fire that spread to a second vessel, the Greek-owned gas transport ship Gaslog Salem, authorities said [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. Egypt’s petroleum ministry confirmed the fire at the port but did not mention a drone attack explicitly [2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8].

The fire was brought under control without any casualties, according to official reports [1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8]. The Energos Winter tanker is owned by US company Energos Infrastructure and managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management. It has a capacity of approximately 138,250 cubic meters [8, 9].

The drone attack occurred amid the wider escalation of the Middle East conflict involving missile and air strikes between the US, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iran-backed groups operating in Iraq and Yemen [2, 3, 4, 6, 9]. Iran confirmed that on the same day it fired missiles at US forces in Jordan and ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran also claimed drone strikes on US military sites in Kuwait and bases in Jordan, though the US Central Command denied any damage to F-35 aircraft [2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 9, 11].

US President Donald Trump said he had been briefed on the tanker incident and vowed heavy retaliation against Iran. "So it’s our turn. We’re going to hit them very hard," Trump said [2, 3, 4, 7, 9]. At the same time, US and Saudi forces launched coordinated air strikes against Iranian-backed militias in Iraq [2, 3, 4, 5, 9].

The attacks triggered an over 8% spike in oil prices on July 29, with Brent crude rising sharply above $90 a barrel on fears over supply disruptions [2, 3, 4]. This attack marks the first time Egypt’s port has been targeted since the conflict started in late February with US and Israeli strikes on Iran [4, 5, 12, 9]. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, expanding the regional scope of the conflict [2, 3, 4, 5, 12, 9].

Iran denied a proposal from Oman to jointly manage the Strait of Hormuz following the missile attacks [2, 3, 4].

On July 31, Iran’s military claimed drone strikes on US military facilities in Kuwait, adding to the rising tensions in the region [10, 11]. The next key development is expected as US and allied forces determine their response to the escalation.