MOSCOW/WASHINGTON/HAVANA, Feb 21 (Rezo Nòdwès) — President Vladimir Putin has ordered a Russian-flagged tanker carrying nearly 200,000 barrels of fuel to sail toward Cuba, in what officials and maritime tracking data suggest is an effort to counter long-standing U.S. sanctions on the island.
The vessel, identified in shipping databases as SEA HORSE, is currently crossing the Atlantic Ocean en route to the Caribbean, according to publicly available tracking services reviewed on Friday.
Russian state media cited unnamed officials describing the shipment as part of “legitimate energy cooperation” between Moscow and Havana. The Kremlin has repeatedly criticized the decades-old U.S. embargo on Cuba, calling it unilateral and inconsistent with international law.
The United States has not immediately commented on the reported shipment. The State Department has previously warned that entities facilitating transactions that violate U.S. sanctions risk exposure to penalties.
Cuba has faced recurring fuel shortages and widespread power outages in recent months, as imports declined and domestic infrastructure struggled to meet demand.
Any attempt to deliver Russian fuel to the island could heighten tensions between Moscow and Washington, already strained over the war in Ukraine and successive rounds of Western sanctions targeting Russia’s energy exports.
It was not immediately clear whether U.S. authorities would seek to respond diplomatically or through enforcement measures if the tanker reaches Cuban waters.
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