March 20 (UPI) -- Two tankers carrying Russian oil and fuel are expected to arrive in Cuba in the coming days, testing new U.S. restrictions and raising uncertainty over whether the shipments will be allowed to unload, according to maritime tracking data and official statements.
The U.S. Treasury Department said this week that Cuba is prohibited from receiving Russian crude oil, adding the island to a sanctions framework that blocks transactions involving the sale, delivery or offloading of petroleum products originating from Russia. The measure was issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
It remains unclear how the restrictions will be enforced once the vessels approach Cuban waters. The shipments could test how far the Trump administration is willing to go to prevent new fuel deliveries to the island, as Washington increases pressure on Cuba's energy supply.
One of the vessels, the Russian-flagged Anatoly Kolodkin, departed March 8 from the port of Primorsk carrying approximately 730,000 barrels of crude. It could arrive in Cuba around Monday, according to analytics firm Kpler.
The tanker is under sanctions by the United States and the European Union due to its involvement in transporting Russian oil related to the war in Ukraine.
