Russia says it will send another oil tanker to Cuba, according to Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilyov. The statement was made Thursday, only two days after a sanctioned Russian tanker named Anatoly Kolodkin arrived at the Cuban port of Matanzas carrying about 730,000 barrels of oil. That delivery was significant because it marked the first oil tanker to reach Cuba in roughly three months.
Tsivilyov said a second tanker is currently being loaded and will also head to the island. He described Cuba as being under severe restrictions and said Russia intends to keep supplying the country despite those challenges. According to him, the first Russian vessel managed to deliver oil despite what he called a blockade, and another shipment is now being prepared. He added that Russia does not plan to leave Cuba without support.
The comments were made while Tsivilyov was attending an energy forum in the Russian city of Kazan.
A similar message came earlier from Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova. She said Cuba remains one of Russia’s closest partners in the Caribbean and emphasized that Russia intends to continue providing assistance to the island.
Cuba currently produces only about 40 percent of the fuel it needs domestically and depends heavily on imported energy to keep its power grid running. Analysts say the expected shipment could yield around 180,000 barrels of diesel fuel, which would be enough to meet the country’s daily diesel demand for roughly nine to ten days.