The US government will allow a Russian tanker full of crude oil to reach Cuba, effectively easing the blockade that has plunged the island into an energy crisis, a report said.
The Russian-flagged tanker, the Anatoly Kolodkin, was headed to Cuba on Sunday carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of oil, The New York Times reported, citing a US official briefed on the matter.
The tanker Anatoly Kolodkin was near the eastern tip of Cuba on Sunday, ship tracking data showed.
“We have a tanker there. We don’t mind if someone gets a boatload because they have to… they have to survive,” President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday when asked about the report.
CUBA’S ENTIRE ELECTRICAL NETWORK FAILS, LEAVING THE ENTIRE ISLAND WITHOUT POWER
The US government will allow a Russian tanker full of crude oil to reach Cuba. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
“Now if any country wants to send some oil to Cuba, I have no problem whether it is Russia or not,” he added.
Trump had tried to limit oil shipments to Cuba in an effort to put pressure on the government.
The US government has temporarily eased some sanctions on Russian oil supplies to help stabilize global energy markets amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz following US and Israeli military strikes on Iran that began last month.
CUBAN OFFICIAL REVEALS MILITARY ‘PREPARE’ FOR CONFLICT AFTER TRUMP CONSIDERS ‘TAKING’ ISLAND
President Donald Trump had tried to limit oil shipments to Cuba in an effort to put pressure on the government. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)
The Anatoly Kolodkin, which departed from Primorsk, Russia, could soon dock at the port of Matanzas in Cuba if it stays on its current course, according to tracking services MarineTraffic and LSEG.
The oil would provide significant relief to Cuba, where President Miguel Díaz-Canel has said fuel shortages have persisted for months, forcing strict gas rationing and worsening the island’s energy crisis.
The US capture of then-Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January deprived a key Cuban ally that had supplied oil to the island on favorable terms.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has said fuel shortages have persisted for months. (PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Trump administration subsequently blocked all Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and promised to impose punitive tariffs on any third country providing shipments to the island, forcing Mexico to halt its exports to Cuba.
Another ship, the Hong Kong-flagged Sea Horse, also carried about 200,000 barrels of Russian fuel to Cuba but was diverted to Venezuela.
