A drone strike hit Egypt’s Damietta Port on July 29, setting fire to the U.S.-owned Energos Winter floating storage and regasification unit and the nearby GasLog Salem. Security sources examining the wreckage say at least two drones were involved, penetrating several layers of Egypt’s air defenses in the process. No one was injured. The port stayed open, with Egypt’s Ministry of Transport confirming normal vessel traffic and cargo handling across all terminals. No group has claimed responsibility. Those are the facts. What they mean is the more interesting question, and it has several plausible answers.
It’s Hot in Here: North Africa is Baking This Summer
In my trip to Europe last month, I complained a lot about the heatwave I experienced in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. No AC in many places, even in some of the famed establishments. But where I was born and raised, North Africa, the region is living through one of its harshest summers in recent memory. A strong high-pressure system has trapped hot air across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya for weeks, and the consequences have moved well past uncomfortable weather. Power grids are buckling under demand, wildfires are burning across northern Algeria at a pace authorities have rarely recorded, and households and small businesses are absorbing the cost in spoiled food, lost income, and disrupted daily life.
