The Russian oil tanker Anatoli Kolodkin maneuvers in Matanzas Bay, Cuba, on March 31. A second tanker, Universal, has now accelerated and turned toward the South Atlantic, moving away from Cuba after weeks of erratic navigation in the North Atlantic. File Photo by Stringer/EPA
May 26 (UPI) -- The Russian tanker Universal, sanctioned by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, accelerated and turned toward the South Atlantic, moving away from Cuba after weeks of erratic navigation in the North Atlantic while the island faces an energy crisis marked by shortages of diesel and fuel oil.
According to maritime tracking reports and researcher Jorge Piñon, director of the Latin America and Caribbean Energy Program at the University of Texas, the vessel went from traveling at about 1.3 knots on Monday to reaching 10.5 knots, a change suggesting a more defined destination, although tracking platforms still did not show a specific port of arrival.
Transit resumed for the tanker UNIVERSAL on May 22 after drifting since late April
The vessel was initially bound for Cuba, but that destination now appears unlikely as it has already passed the area. The tanker is currently heading south with no declared... pic.twitter.com/PSRgUc66gd— Russian Forces Spotter (@TiaFarris10) May 26, 2026
