The Russian-flagged oil tanker named Anatoly Kolodkin entered Cuba's exclusive economic zone on March 30, according to maritime tracking data, marking the possibility that this will be the first oil import of the Caribbean island nation after more than 2 months without fuel.
The ship departed from the Russian port of Primorsk, carrying about 650,000 barrels of Urals crude oil (some sources say up to 730,000 barrels). If it does not change direction, the ship is likely to dock at Matanzas port to unload goods in the near future.
This development is particularly noteworthy because the US has long tightened oil supply routes to Cuba to increase pressure on the Havana government. However, in the context of global energy supplies being disrupted by airstrikes by the US and Israel against Iran, Washington is said to have temporarily eased some restrictions related to Russian oil.
According to The New York Times, a US official confirmed that the Russian ship was en route to Cuba but did not explain the reason why President Donald Trump's administration allowed this shipment to dock.
Data from ship tracking systems also shows that the ship Anatoly Kolodkin is on the US sanctions list.
For Cuba, the above oil volume may be of vital importance. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that the country has not received any imported oil shipments in the past 3 months. As a result, the distribution of gasoline and oil has been tightened, leading to a series of widespread power outages nationwide.
Earlier, Russian Energy Minister Sergey Tsivilyov told reporters that Russia continues to supply humanitarian goods to Cuba, including fuel.
The fact that a Russian oil tanker suddenly approached Cuba in the context of being blockaded shows the changes that are appearing in Washington's sanctions policy, especially when geopolitical fluctuations force the US to reconsider its global energy priorities.
