Viral video of drone strike on Egyptian ships debunked as footage from Black Sea

A video circulating on Instagram, X and Telegram purporting to show a drone slamming into a US-owned vessel off Egypt has been viewed more than a million times. The footage is fake. It was filmed five days earlier in the Black Sea, where a Ukrainian drone struck the Russian bulk carrier New Victory on 24 July.

The real attack occurred on 29 July at Damietta, one of Egypt's main liquefied natural gas export hubs on the Mediterranean coast. An unidentified drone hit the Energos Winter, a US-owned natural gas storage vessel, and the fire spread to the Greek-owned LNG tanker GasLog Salem. Egyptian authorities extinguished the blaze and reported no casualties. The cabinet confirmed on 30 July that a drone caused the fire, though no group has claimed responsibility.

How the false clip spread

Open-source investigators compared the vessel in the viral video with satellite imagery and vessel-tracking databases. The superstructure, deck layout and paint scheme match the New Victory, a Russian-flagged bulk carrier, not the Energos Winter or GasLog Salem. The original Black Sea footage was widely shared by Ukrainian and Russian outlets on 24 July, five days before the Damietta incident.

Regional tensions provide fertile ground

The genuine strike comes amid a widening confrontation. Since a US-Israeli coalition launched operations against Iran on 28 February, Tehran has attempted to block the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global energy exports. On 20 July, Yemen's Houthis declared a maritime blockade targeting Saudi vessels in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean. Disruptions have already rattled oil markets, with prices jumping to $83 a barrel as traders price in supply risk.

Some international outlets, including The New York Times, have reported unconfirmed allegations of Iranian involvement in the Damietta attack. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, dismissed the claims on X and warned of what he called Israeli "false-flag operations" designed to undermine regional peace.

What happens next

Egyptian investigators are examining wreckage to identify the drone's origin. Shipping insurers are reassessing risk premiums for Mediterranean LNG routes, while European buyers monitor Damietta's export capacity. With no claim of responsibility, the incident adds another layer of ambiguity to a conflict where attribution is increasingly contested and visual evidence is easily weaponised.