By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Ship tracking data has indicated that a tanker carrying fuel originally headed for Cuba has changed its destination to Trinidad and Tobago, a heavy setback for the island amid a severe fuel scarcity that has triggered power blackouts.
The Hong Kong-flagged vessel Sea Horse loaded a PMS cargo earlier this year through a ship-to-ship transfer in the Mediterranean before setting sail to the Caribbean.
The Russian-origin cargo was bound for Cuba, according to several maritime intelligence firms, but the ship had suspended course in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean since late February.
The tanker has changed course and is heading south to Trinidad, with an estimated arrival on Monday, according to data from LSEG.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday changed the terms of a waiver it had granted to sales of Russian-origin crude and petroleum products already loaded on tankers to specifically exclude transactions involving North Korea, Cuba and Crimea.
The license is part of the Trump administration’s effort to tame high crude and gas prices amid the Middle East conflict.
Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency said the Russian government is in talks with Cuba about providing aid options, but did not give further details.
Power outage is now consistent in Cuba, which has only received two tankers at its ports this year, bringing oil, LSEG data showed.
The Communist-run island needs imported fuel oil and diesel to generate power and avoid more outages, while gasoline sales remain strictly rationed and sold on the black market for $8 per litre, six times the official price.
