Russian tanker nears Cuba, defying U.S. oil blockade

The shipment could be refined into 250,000 barrels of diesel, covering about 12.5 days of the energy-starved island's energy demand.

Just now

HAVANA:

A Russian oil tanker under US sanctions is scheduled to arrive in Cuba on Monday, challenging a de facto American fuel blockade of the energy-starved island, shipping data shows.

The Anatoly Kolodkin, which is carrying 730,000 barrels of crude, was north of Haiti on Sunday as it headed towards the port of Matanzas in western Cuba, according to maritime analytics firm Kpler.

Jorge Pinon, an expert on Cuba’s energy sector at the University of Texas at Austin, said he was surprised the United States did not try to intercept the Russian tanker before it got so close to Cuba.

The Anatoly Kolodkin, which is under US sanctions, was loaded with oil in the Russian port of Primorsk on March 8.

It was escorted by a Russian navy ship across the English Channel, but the two vessels split when the tanker entered the Atlantic, according to the British Royal Navy.

Another ship that was reportedly carrying Russian diesel to Cuba, the Hong Kong-flagged Sea Horse, arrived in Venezuela instead earlier this week.

Once the Anatoly Kolodkin’s crude arrives in Cuba, it would take about 15-20 days to process the oil and another 5-10 days to deliver its refined products, Pinon said.