A Russian oil tanker reaches the waters off Cuba despite US blockade

This sanctioned tanker was expected to arrive at the port of Matanzas on Monday evening.

The Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin was on the verge of arriving on Monday, March 30 in the evening, at the port of Matanzas, near Havana, according to data transmitted by its automatic identification system (AIS). It was sailing at a speed of 14 knots, with 730,000 barrels of crude oil for the island under a blockade by the United States.

This Aframax, 249.9 meters long and 118,316 deadweight tons, built in 2013, belongs to a company registered in Dubai. It is listed as a sanctioned vessel by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, and Switzerland. Surprisingly, the United States apparently did not oppose the entry of the ship, which loaded oil in Primorsk, near St. Petersburg on March 8, into Cuban waters. According to the New York Times, citing an official note, the Trump administration authorized it to continue its journey.

Since January and the American operation in Venezuela, which was Cuba’s main supplier, the island has not received any oil deliveries. Running short on fuel for its power plants, the island is experiencing frequent power cuts. It would take between 15 and 20 days to refine the oil and another 5 to 10 days to distribute the refined products, the destination of which is unknown.

Since the start of a campaign launched in December 2025 against the “ghost fleet” transporting oil to Venezuela, the United States has intercepted at least nine tankers, mainly in the Caribbean Sea, but also in the North Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. This campaign was preceded, since early September 2025, by a series of strikes on vessels accused of transporting drugs to the United States.

Article by the Mer et Marine editorial staff. Reproduction prohibited without consent from the author(s).