Damietta LNG imports remain on hold as Egypt says port operations have resumed

LNG imports at Egypt's Damietta terminal remain on hold following the July 29 drone attack that caused a fire aboard the FSRU Energos Winter and FSU GasLog Salem, while the Egyptian government says operations at Damietta port have returned to normal.

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According to a social media post by the Ministry of Petroleum yesterday, the government confirmed during a weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on July 30 that the fire involving the two LNG vessels “was caused by a drone.” Madbouly said vessel traffic, cargo handling and other port operations had stabilised and returned to normal following coordinated efforts by the relevant authorities, according to the post.

Kpler data show the floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) Energos Winter, which is not operational,  and the floating storage unit (FSU) GasLog Salem remain idling offshore Damietta after leaving the port on July 29. No LNG carrier has discharged at the terminal since the incident.

The Trafigura-chartered LNG carrier HL Fortuna, which had been due to discharge at Damietta on Aug. 1 before the attack, remains in the Mediterranean Sea after arriving off the terminal on July 28. The vessel has been unable to discharge at the terminal, where Energos Winter remains out of operation, because "there is no ullage in the shore tanks," a source told Kpler.

Sources close to the matter told Kpler yesterday that the vessel is expected to discharge at the Energos Power FSRU, one of three FSRUs at Ain Sukhna, via a ship-to-ship transfer, although it has yet to head south through the Suez Canal. But, they said today that it can discharge at any one of the three Ain Sukhna FSRUs.

Kpler data also show the LNG carrier Energy Universe, carrying a cargo loaded at the US Cove Point LNG export terminal on July 12, waiting near the northern entrance to the Suez Canal, suggesting it could also be bound for Ain Sukhna, or Jordan's Aqaba terminal, although its destination has not been confirmed. Meanwhile, the Methane Julia Louise remains outside Ain Sukhna ahead of a scheduled Aug. 1 delivery.

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FSRUs have turned off AIS signals for security reasons

Two of the three FSRUs at Ain Sukhna, Energos Power and Energos Eskimo, have switched off their AIS transponders over the past two days following the attack, which sources told Kpler was for security reasons. Kpler vessel-tracking data show Hoegh Galleon, the third FSRU at Ain Sukhna, has continued transmitting AIS signals, as have Energos Winter and Energos Force, which remains offshore Damietta, where it was deployed as a standby vessel and shuttle tanker.

The heightened security measures at Ain Sukhna come as Energos Infrastructure, which owns Energos Power, Energos Eskimo, Energos Winter and Energos Winter, all deployed in Egypt, assesses whether the Energos Force can temporarily replace Energos Winter at Damietta. Sources previously told Kpler the company would only deploy the vessel after determining it is safe to do so and obtaining security clearance from Egypt's Petroleum Ministry.

According to Kpler data, Egypt's imports have reached an all-time high of 1.61 mt of LNG this month, comprising 0.43 mt through Energos Power, 0.42 mt through Hoegh Galleon, 0.41 mt through Energos Eskimo and 0.35 mt through Damietta. They stood at 1.33 mt in June and 0.99 mt in July 2025.

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