Russian Oil Tanker Bound for Cuba Diverts to Trinidad

A tanker carrying Russian-origin diesel originally bound for Cuba has changed course to Trinidad and Tobago, according to ship-tracking data reviewed by Reuters. The move leaves Cuba with no immediate fuel supply in sight.

So far this year, the island has received only two tankers carrying imported oil, far short of what it needs to keep the lights on. Power blackouts have become a daily reality, and the island only just reconnected its national power grid last Tuesday after a nationwide outage that lasted more than 29 hours.

US policy is making the situation worse. The Trump administration last week updated a sanctions waiver on Russian oil to specifically exclude Cuba, meaning any Russian-origin fuel already loaded on tankers cannot legally be sold to the island.

With fuel scarce and supplies blocked, gasoline in Cuba has spilt onto the black market, where it is selling for around $8 USD per litre, six times the official price.