By Dave Sherwood and Marianna Parraga
HAVANA/HOUSTON, March 30 (Reuters) – A Russian-flagged oil tanker ship was closing in on the Cuban port of Matanzas on Monday, according to ship tracking data, promising a lifeline for an island whose economy has ground to a halt under a de facto oil blockade imposed by Washington.
The Anatoly Kolodkin vessel, under U.S. sanctions, entered Cuban territorial waters not far from the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay late on Sunday without incident. U.S. President Donald Trump said shortly after that he had “no problem” with any country sending crude to Cuba, suggesting a reversal of prior policy.
But the White House said on Monday there was no such change, saying instead the U.S. had allowed the sanctioned tanker laden with nearly 700,000 barrels of crude to deliver fuel for humanitarian reasons and would review future deliveries case-by-case.
ENERGY CRISIS CAUSES BLACKOUTS
Cuba has not received an oil tanker in three months, according to President Miguel Diaz-Canel, exacerbating an energy crisis that has led to days-long blackouts across the country of 10 million people and brought hospitals, public transportation and agricultural production to the brink of collapse.
The fuel, if delivered, would give Cuba’s Communist-run government breathing room amid growing pressure from the Trump administration, which has promised change in Cuba.
The U.S. cut off Venezuelan oil exports to Cuba after capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, and Trump threatened to slap punishing tariffs on any other country that sent crude to Cuba. Mexico, one of the largest suppliers to Cuba, along with Venezuela, then halted its shipments.
“The Americans need to let us live a little, let us breathe,” said Havana resident Ismael de la Luz, 67, adding it was the people, not the government, suffering most from the blackouts and shortages. “We`re in a really bad way.”
MYSTERY SHIP
The tanker sparked intrigue in early March when it loaded at Russia’s Primorsk port, according to LSEG ship tracking data, before making its way across the Atlantic Ocean toward Cuba.
Days later, the U.S. temporarily eased sanctions on Russia to improve the global flow of oil that has been restricted by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. That easing did not include deliveries to Cuba, which remain banned.
The Anatoly Kolodkin continued to defy expectations on Monday, churning westward along Cuba`s key-speckled north coast about halfway between the Cuban port of Nuevitas and its destination at Matanzas, a major Cuban oil port east of Havana.
The vessel had increased its speed to 14 knots (16 mph), ship tracking data showed, and was expected to arrive between Monday night and Tuesday morning.
It will take days before the crude onboard the Anatoly Kolodkin can be processed domestically and turned into motor fuel and refined products such as diesel and fuel oil for power generation.
The ship is carrying Russian Urals, a medium sour crude, which is a good fit for Cuba’s aging refineries.
MORE TO COME?
The Anatoly Kolodkin followed on the heels of another tanker originally carrying Russian diesel to Cuba, the Sea Horse. But the Sea Horse rerouted to Venezuela after remaining stuck for weeks in the middle of the Atlantic.
It is unclear if other tankers that were originally bound for Cuba, including the Sea Horse, will try to discharge at Cuban ports after the White House softened what had been a blanket blockade.
Venezuela and Mexico were readying cargoes when Washington tightened its oil blockade. At least one fuel tanker remains loaded waiting for directions, according to shipping records seen by Reuters.
In addition to its power generation needs, Cuba needs to import and produce gasoline, jet fuel and cooking gas for domestic distribution.
The island used to import 100,000 barrels per day of crude and fuel to meet domestic demand.
U.S. shippers have sent some 30,000 barrels of fuel to Cuba`s private sector since February, part of a policy to undercut state businesses.
(Reporting by Dave Sherwood in Havana and Marianna Parraga in Houston, additional reporting by Ayose Naranjo in Havana and Bo Erickson and Nandita Bose in Washington, editing by Rod Nickel)
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