US to allow Russian oil tanker to reach Cuba – New York Times

The United States is allowing a Russian tanker full of crude oil to reach Cuba, in an easing of the de facto oil blockade that Washington has imposed on Cuba, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing a US official briefed on the matter.

Washington has effectively blocked all oil shipments to Cuba in an attempt to pressure the government in Havana. Meanwhile, the US has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russia to help improve the flow of oil that has been restricted by the US and Israeli military strikes on Iran.

The Times report said it was unclear why the Trump administration was allowing the shipment to go through.

The US-sanctioned tanker Anatoly Kolodkin was on its way to Cuba, LSEG ship-monitoring data also showed. The vessel departed from Russia's Primorsk port carrying some 650,000 barrels of crude, though the New York Times report said it had 730,000 barrels.

In either case, that much oil would provide significant relief to Cuba, which, according to President Miguel Diaz-Canel, has not received any oil imports for three months, leading to strict rationing of gasoline and exacerbating an energy crisis that has resulted in multiple power outages across the Caribbean island nation. — Reuters