Cairo, July 29 -- An explosion rocked a US-owned and operated liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel at Egypt's Damietta Port following a drone strike on Wednesday, raising fears that the Middle East conflict is spilling over into critical new energy hubs beyond its traditional Gulf theatre.

Quoting maritime security firm Ambrey, Al Jazeera reported that the explosion occurred during cargo discharge operations at the port.

The UK-based maritime security company Ambrey identified the ship as the US-owned floating storage vessel Energos Winter, revealing that it was hit by an unmanned aerial vehicle while berthed at the facility.

Egypt's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources subsequently confirmed that a fire broke out involving a stor...