Smoke rises from a gas tanker after a fire caused by a drone strike, at Damietta port, Egypt, on July 29, 2026. ReutersInfoFire was brought under control and caused no casualtiesEgypt said on Thursday that preliminary investigations had determined that a drone caused a fire affecting two vessels at Damietta Port a day earlier.In a statement, the Egyptian cabinet said the fire had been brought under control and that initial inquiries by the relevant authorities concluded that a drone was responsible for the incident.The government said no party had claimed responsibility for the incident.Authorities are continuing investigations to determine the full circumstances surrounding the incident and to identify those responsible, the statement said.It added that the necessary measures would be taken to safeguard the country's interests and national security.The fire affected two ships – a storage tanker and a vessel used to turn liquid fuel into gas.Egypt's Petroleum Ministry said in a statement said on Wednesday the fire was under control, with no casualties reported. Petroleum Minister Karim Badawi was inspecting the site late on Wednesday.Kpler, an energy analytics firm, said the two ships had been damaged and “operations disrupted” at Damietta, one of Egypt's main terminals for importing gas. It said both were moved offshore as authorities assess the situation.Security company Ambrey said the US-owned storage tanker had been hit by a drone.The Energos Winter is a floating storage and regasification unit, owned by US company firm Energos ​Infrastructure. Its technical, safety and commercial operations ‌are managed by ⁠Wilhelmsen Ship Management, also a US ​company.Any drone attack in Egypt could bring a serious escalation of the Middle East war but there was no official confirmation.The conflict has broadened in recent days as Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked Red Sea shipping before the US and Saudi Arabia carried out strikes on Iraq. The expansion followed a resumption of US and Iranian attacks across the Arabian Gulf, which ended at the weekend after 13 consecutive nights of strikes.Updated: July 30, 2026, 7:48 AM