Fire erupts on ships at Egypt’s Damietta port

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that fires broke out on two gas processing and storage vessels at Egypt’s Damietta port on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Citing Egypt’s oil ministry, the outlet said no injuries were reported. The ministry said emergency response procedures were activated quickly, but it did not give a cause for the incident.

The report also cited maritime services firm Inchcape, which said earlier that an explosion had occurred at the liquefied natural gas terminal. Inchcape said activity at other berths and terminals was expected to restart overnight. Damietta, on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, is an important port for trade and energy infrastructure, so any disruption at an LNG-related facility is closely watched by shipping and energy markets.

Al Jazeera further noted a Reuters report citing British maritime security company Ambrey, which said a US-owned floating storage tanker at the port had been struck by a drone. According to that account, crew members were evacuated and the fire was brought under control. No group had claimed responsibility at the time of the report, and the Egyptian ministry’s statement did not confirm a drone strike.

The incident comes amid heightened regional tensions. Al Jazeera linked the timing to renewed hostilities involving Iran, US forces and attacks in the region, including recent Iranian missile strikes on US bases and US-Saudi attacks on a Tehran-backed armed group in Iraq. The precise connection, if any, between those developments and the Damietta fires remains unconfirmed.