A sanctioned Russian tanker is shipping over 700,000 barrels of oil to Cuba, which is facing severe blackouts due to a US blockade.
A Russian tanker under Western sanctions is delivering more than 700,000 barrels of crude oil to Cuba as the island suffers blackouts under a United States blockade, reports Agence France-Presse.
Marine trackers indicated that the Anatoly Kolodkin loaded 730,000 barrels at Primorsk on 8 March and is bound for Cuba's Matanzas terminal, with a scheduled arrival around 23 March. The vessel is owned by Sovcomflot and is flagged in Russia.
Another tanker, the Hong Kong-flagged Sea Horse, loaded nearly 200,000 barrels of diesel off Cyprus in January and has since taken an erratic course across the Atlantic, currently located near the northwestern Caribbean.
The Anatoly Kolodkin is listed under sanctions by the US, European Union, and Britain. President Donald Trump has tightened pressure on Cuba since ousting Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in January, enforcing an oil blockade that has cut off supplies from Venezuela.
Cuba has imported no oil since 9 January, except for a shipment from Mexico shortly after Maduro's ouster. The island has since faced severe shortages and blackouts.
Humanitarian aid has begun arriving, with five tonnes of medical supplies delivered by a delegation of 100 activists from Europe and Latin America. Organisers stated that a total of 20 tonnes of aid will be sent to help Cuba through its worst economic crisis in three decades.
