HAVANA (AP) — Cuba prepared on Monday to receive a sanctioned Russian tanker carrying roughly 730,000 barrels of oil, the first such delivery this year to the island that has been brought to its knees by a U.S. oil blockade.
It comes a day after U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters he had “no problem” with the Russian oil tanker delivering relief to Cuba.
The exact location of the Russian-flagged Anatoly Kolodkin remained a subject of conflicting reports. While the Russian Transport Ministry and the state-run news portal Cubadebate said the vessel had already arrived, ship-tracking data showed it was still navigating Cuban waters with an estimated docking time of Tuesday.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday said Russia had previously discussed its oil shipment to Cuba with the United States. “Russia considers it its duty not to stand aside, but to provide the necessary assistance to our Cuban friends,” he told reporters.
The tanker’s final destination is the port of Matanzas, a strategic hub for an island that produces barely 40% of its required fuel and relies on imports to sustain its energy grid. Experts say the anticipated shipment could produce about 180,000 barrels of diesel, enough to feed Cuba’s daily demand for nine or 10 days.
