Written by: Badr Ahmed

Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly confirmed that Egyptian state I dealt with the Damietta port incident with high efficiency and in accordance with the highest standards of crisis management, stressing that what happened represents first-rate crisis management, thanks to the speed of response and coordination between the various concerned parties, which contributed to containing the situation and reducing the size of the losses.

During the press conference that followed the weekly cabinet meeting, Madbouly said that the priority from the first moments of the incident was to extinguish the fire and prevent its effects from spreading to the rest of the port facilities or neighboring ships, stressing that the rescue and firefighting teams succeeded in carrying out this task efficiently and professionally.

Firefighting operations continued for 12 hours.

The Prime Minister explained that the Egyptian crews continued firefighting operations for 12 consecutive hours, starting at 4 pm and continuing until 4 am, which contributed to the complete control of the fire and prevented its repercussions from worsening. He thanked all the teams that participated in managing the crisis, and praised the readiness and expertise they demonstrated in dealing with the situation.

Regarding the circumstances of the incident, Madbouly indicated that the competent security agencies are continuing their investigations to determine the source of the drone that caused the incident, stressing that the Egyptian state does not rely on rumors or speculations, but rather awaits the results of the technical and security investigations before announcing any official information.

He added that the damage to the storage vessel was limited, while the greater damage was concentrated on the gasification vessel, noting that an urgent decision was made to separate the two vessels immediately after the accident, which helped to reduce losses and prevent the fire from spreading to the surrounding vessels or facilities.

The Prime Minister revealed that the government has decided to introduce a modern firefighting system that relies on the use of drones, as part of developing the emergency response system and raising the efficiency of dealing with major incidents, in line with the latest technologies used globally.

In the energy sector, Madbouly reassured citizens, stressing that the electricity system and energy supplies were not affected by the incident at all, and that the state has alternatives and plans to ensure the continued provision of the needs of the local market without interruption, noting that the work to repair the damaged ship has already begun, while continuing to secure the necessary alternatives until it returns to service in full.