Cuba-bound tanker carrying Russian fuels set to test Trump blockade

By Lucia Kassai

 

A ship believed to be carrying Russian fuels is on its way to Cuba, putting US President Donald Trump’s sanctions to the test amid the island’s deepening energy crisis.  

The vessel Sea Horse, expected to arrive in early March, is carrying much-needed fuels to Cuba, according to data from maritime intelligence firm Kpler Ltd. The country is short on fuels critical for cooking, transportation and power generation, with it literally struggling to keep the lights on. Available electricity has plummeted since the start of the year and satellite imagery found the level of light at night is down as much as 50 per cent.

 

 

Pressure on Havana has been mounting since late last year, when US forces seized a ship carrying Venezuelan crude to Cuba. After the subsequent capture of Venezuelan leader and longtime ally Nicolas Maduro, the Trump administration swiftly ordered the interim government left behind to halt shipments of crude to the communist-run island. Trump also threatened tariffs on any nation that supplies Cuba with fuel, leading Mexico, a steady supplier, to cut off shipments as well. 

 

Cuba, which doesn’t produce much oil, heavily depends on imports of fuels or crude to run its refineries. 

 

The Sea Horse received supplies in a ship-to-ship transfer off the coast of Cyprus and is likely carrying nearly 200,000 barrels of Russian gasoil, Kpler’s lead oil analyst Matt Smith said. Gasoil broadly refers to diesel-type fuels used in transportation and power generation.  

 

It’s unclear whether the Sea Horse will be able to break the US blockade, which so far has seized at least nine ships involved in the illicit transport of sanctioned oil.

 

Russia, for its part, has come under deeper international sanctions over its four-year-long war on Ukraine and both US and European nations have stepped up moves to seize tankers from the so-called shadow fleet that helps keep sanctioned barrels flowing. 

 

The US military presence in the Caribbean has choked off much of Cuba’s oil supply. Earlier this month the tanker Ocean Mariner, frequently used to ship fuels to Cuba, diverted and now signals Bahamas as its final destination, according to vessel movements. The ship, carrying 30,000 barrels of diesel, was loaded at the Colombian port of Barranquilla, a shipping report seen by Bloomberg shows. 

 

In January, Cuba didn’t receive any oil for the first time in a decade. 

 

Cuba had received quite a bit of oil in December which should last for a few more weeks, Vortexa Ltd’s senior oil analyst Rohit Rathod said. 

 

“I would would give it until late-March before they run out of fuels.”