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The US has allowed a Russian oil tanker to sail to Cuba

The US has allowed a Russian oil tanker to sail to Cuba

Tetiana Bodnarenko Journalist

30 March 2026, 10:14

The US has allowed a Russian oil tanker to sail to Cuba — A tanker in the port of Havana, the capital of Cuba, September 2025. Photo: Adalberto Roque/AFP

The US Coast Guard did not stop a ship carrying Russian oil, despite the previously announced blockade of Cuba. The tanker is already off the island’s coast.

The US Coast Guard has allowed the Russian oil tanker Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying 730,000 barrels of oil to Cuba, to pass. The vessel is currently off the island’s east coast and is expected to arrive at the port of Matanzas by 31 March, according to Reuters.

Two US Coast Guard patrol boats are stationed near Cuba. However, they have not received orders to intercept the tanker, despite the de facto blockade of the island announced by US President Donald Trump.

Donald Trump stated that he sees no problem with supplying oil to Cuba. According to him, if any country wishes to send oil, this is permissible, regardless of whether it is Russia. He added that such supplies are necessary for survival.

Experts note that the arrival of the tanker could provide Cuba with fuel for at least several weeks.

Following the US attack on Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro, Caracas halted oil supplies to Cuba. At the end of January, Donald Trump labelled Cuba a threat to US national security and threatened to impose punitive tariffs on countries supplying oil to the island.

On 16 and 21 March, two nationwide blackouts occurred in Cuba due to a fuel shortage.

That same month, Donald Trump stated that he might take control of Cuba. In response, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel declared his readiness to resist.

Cuba’s Deputy Prime Minister Óscar Pérez-Oliva announced that Havana was ready to engage in trade relations with US companies and Cubans living in the United States. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that this was insufficient for the reforms the US administration was counting on.

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