Sanctioned Russian Tanker Docks in Cuba Bringing Badly Needed Crude Oil
The Russian-flagged tanker Anatoly Kolodkin docked at Cuba’s Matanzas terminal on Tuesday morning, March 31, ending weeks of suspense about whether the United States would attempt to intervene. It was the first large tanker to make it into Cuba in three months, since the Trump administration choked off the supply from Venezuela and threatened Mexico with more tariffs if it continued to supply Cuba.
“Possibly, the arrival of an oil tanker to a country like Cuba has never generated so much news as the Russian one has,” wrote Carlos F. de Cossio, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, in a social media posting. Pictures online showed the media lining the shores along with the citizens to catch a glimpse of the tanker arriving at the terminal.
The vessel had been traveling along the Cuban coast since Sunday afternoon. After having shown its destination as “Atlantis” for weeks, the vessel had changed its AIS transmission to show Matanzas.
The New York Times first reported on Sunday that the Trump administration had decided to let the tanker proceed. Speaking on his weekly trip from Florida to Washington aboard Air Force One, Donald Trump told the media Sunday night that he did not have a problem if a country wanted to send Cuba some oil. He said it did not matter that it was coming from Russia acknowleding that the Cuban people badly needed the oil to survive.
The White House referred to the delivery “in order to provide humanitarian needs to the Cuban people.” They said it did not represent a change in policy toward Cuba and that other vessels would be on a case-by-case basis. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. still reserves the right to seize vessels, if it were legally applicable, that are headed to Cuba and violate U.S. sanctions policy.
Russia’s spokesperson Dmitri Peskov on Monday reported the arrival of the tanker at Cuba. He said Russia had raised the issue of the shipment in advance with the United States. The Trump administration did not confirm this, but had previously said it would consider a humanitarian delivery to the island.
The United States first sanctioned the tanker Anatoly Kolodkin in February 2024 as part of an action against Sovcomflot. The UK followed suit later in 2024, and the European Union sanctioned the tanker in 2025. A 118,316-dwt tanker built in 2013, the tanker has been sailing under the Russian flag since April 2024.
Cuban Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy expressed gratitude to the government and people of Russia, saying that the tanker’s “Valuable shipment arrives amid the complex energy situation we are facing.” Russia’s Embassy in Cuba responded by saying, “It is our duty to help our Cuban brothers in these difficult conditions!”
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Analysts note that the shipment is more symbolic as it will provide for only about two weeks’ worth of Cuba’s needs. The island only produces about 40 percent of its own oil and has long depended on Venezuela, Mexico, and others. The tanker has 730,000 barrels of crude aboard, which will take weeks to refine and then yield only about 200,000 barrels of diesel fuel.
Cuba has imposed strict restrictions on the supply of fuel. Schools have been limited, along with non-essential driving. Reports are that the streets are largely empty, and electric power supplies are very limited for the ordinary Cuban.
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