Russian oil tanker nears Cuba in test of US resolve on blockade
Russian officials confirmed Wednesday that Moscow is sending fuel to Cuba as humanitarian aid, intensifying geopolitical tensions as a Russian oil tanker likely bound for the island approaches the Caribbean. Moscow’s announcement comes amid a US effort to choke off oil supplies to Havana that has led to a worsening energy crisis and an unfolding humanitarian disaster.
Issued on: 26/03/2026 -
FRANCE24
By: Sébastian SEIBT
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, with a map of Cuba and an image of an oil tanker in the background. © France Médias Monde graphic studio
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev confirmed Wednesday that Russia is providing fuel shipments to Cuba, saying, “We are sending humanitarian aid. We are providing humanitarian support,” and that the move is intended to help the island cope with severe shortages caused by a US blockade. In January, the Trump administration halted the subsidised Venezuelan oil shipments that had kept the Cuban energy grid running.
The Anatoly Kolodkin oil tanker, which left the Russian port of Primorsk on March 8, is expected to reach its destination on Thursday. It initially listed “Atlantis” as its destination – likely a reference to a marina in Boston, according to the MarineTraffic website – but its current trajectory and increasingly patchy tracking data point elsewhere.
Earlier this month, maritime trackers indicated that a different Russian tanker likely delivered diesel to Cuba, suggesting that the Kolodkin is just the latest fuel shipment aimed at alleviating the island’s energy shortage.
Analysts note that the vessel is already under US sanctions, accused of being part of Russia’s network for bypassing restrictions on its energy exports. Earlier speculation suggested possible diversions to Trinidad and Tobago or Venezuela, but Cuba now appears to be the confirmed destination.
A limited cargo, a larger signal
A successful fuel delivery to Cuba would have geopolitical significance beyond its immediate impact. The tanker is transporting around 730,000 barrels of crude – enough to supply the island for several weeks – at a time when Washington is tightening efforts to restrict fuel flows to Havana.
Cuba, which previously relied on Venezuelan oil for roughly 60 percent of its energy needs, lost that supply after the US military raid on then president Nicolas Maduro.
The US strategy is clear: by limiting oil supplies, Washington aims to deepen Cuba’s economic crisis and increase pressure on its government. A fuel delivery would expose the limits of that approach.
Organised by international groups and activists, several aid shipments carrying solar panels, food, bicycles and medical supplies have also reached Cuba. The humanitarian aid deliveries highlight the breadth and severity of Cuba’s humanitarian crisis.
Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev confirmed Wednesday that Russia is providing fuel shipments to Cuba, saying, “We are sending humanitarian aid. We are providing humanitarian support,” and that the move is intended to help the island cope with severe shortages caused by a US blockade. In January, the Trump administration halted the subsidised Venezuelan oil shipments that had kept the Cuban energy grid running.
The Anatoly Kolodkin oil tanker, which left the Russian port of Primorsk on March 8, is expected to reach its destination on Thursday. It initially listed “Atlantis” as its destination – likely a reference to a marina in Boston, according to the MarineTraffic website – but its current trajectory and increasingly patchy tracking data point elsewhere.
Earlier this month, maritime trackers indicated that a different Russian tanker likely delivered diesel to Cuba, suggesting that the Kolodkin is just the latest fuel shipment aimed at alleviating the island’s energy shortage.
Analysts note that the vessel is already under US sanctions, accused of being part of Russia’s network for bypassing restrictions on its energy exports. Earlier speculation suggested possible diversions to Trinidad and Tobago or Venezuela, but Cuba now appears to be the confirmed destination.
A limited cargo, a larger signal
A successful fuel delivery to Cuba would have geopolitical significance beyond its immediate impact. The tanker is transporting around 730,000 barrels of crude – enough to supply the island for several weeks – at a time when Washington is tightening efforts to restrict fuel flows to Havana.
Cuba, which previously relied on Venezuelan oil for roughly 60 percent of its energy needs, lost that supply after the US military raid on then president Nicolas Maduro.
The US strategy is clear: by limiting oil supplies, Washington aims to deepen Cuba’s economic crisis and increase pressure on its government. A fuel delivery would expose the limits of that approach.
Organised by international groups and activists, several aid shipments carrying solar panels, food, bicycles and medical supplies have also reached Cuba. The humanitarian aid deliveries highlight the breadth and severity of Cuba’s humanitarian crisis.
First flotilla boat arrives in Cuba to deliver aid amid crisis
© France 24
01:51
01:51
“Cuba is in the midst of its worst fuel shortage in years. So this shipment of crude oil could buy Cuba a couple of weeks after refining,” said Basil Germond, a maritime security specialist at Lancaster University.
Germond noted, however, that the shipment “would not solve the structural, longer-term crisis” and noted that: “Russia’s motives look more geopolitical than altruistic.”
Moscow raises the stakes
Unlike earlier shipments routed through vessels flying flags of convenience, the Anatoly Kolodkin is openly Russian-flagged and was briefly escorted out of European waters by a Russian naval frigate, signalling a shift in Moscow’s tactics.
Such visibility appears deliberate.
“This seems to confirm that this vessel likely aims to deter or test [the] US interdiction. A Russian-flagged vessel with a naval escort (even if short-lived) acts as a ‘tripwire signal’: interfering with this vessel would escalate from sanctions enforcement to a direct confrontation with a Russian asset. This is state-to-state, not clandestine commerce. Thus, it becomes a strategic signalling operation, not simply an oil delivery,” Germond said.
Assistant professor Yevgeniy Golovchenko at the University of Copenhagen also noted that Moscow is trying to “send a signal”, perhaps looking to “poke at the US”.
“If the US boards this tanker while it has a Russian flag ... then the US would be blatantly and openly violating international agreements,” he said.
A difficult US response
That calculation complicates the US response. Interfering with a sanctioned vessel in international waters is legally and politically sensitive – particularly one openly linked to Russia.
“US sanctions (without a UN Security Council resolution) do not provide automatic authority to seize a foreign vessel in international waters or third-party waters ... this would be considered as an act of state-to-state aggression by Russia,” Germond said.
For Moscow, the mission carries limited downsides. If the oil reaches Cuba, it reinforces Russia’s image as a strong partner able to support allies and challenge US influence in the Western Hemisphere. If it does not, the tanker could still serve as leverage.
The Kremlin has reaffirmed its support for Havana while the US continues to apply political and economic pressure on the island amid reported talks with Havana.
“There's a good chance this [oil shipment] is some sort of bargaining position in order to put pressure on the US,” said Jeff Hawn, a Russia specialist at the London School of Economics.
Hawn noted that a “stark split” exists within the US administration among those focused on Cuba, those focused on Iran, and those “who want to make peace with Russia”.
For Moscow, he said, “This is most likely a way to try to extract some sort of accommodation from Washington by basically saying, ‘Look, we're going to give Cuba oil unless you do something we want.’”
Enforcement or Escalation
Washington has already moved to tighten its blockade, adding Cuba to the list of destinations where Russian oil deliveries are explicitly prohibited. But its options remain constrained.
'How long can any nation survive without oil?': Cuba faces repeated blackouts amid blockade
© FRANCE 24
09:15
US forces could shadow the vessel to ramp up the pressure, analysts say, but stopping or seizing it outright lacks a legal basis and would risk escalating tensions with Moscow.
As the tanker nears the Caribbean, Washington is facing a familiar dilemma: a heavy-handed enforcement of its blockade that risks confrontation or allow Russia to breach it, thereby undermining the overall US strategy in the region.
This article was adapted from the original in French by Natasha Li.
09:15
US forces could shadow the vessel to ramp up the pressure, analysts say, but stopping or seizing it outright lacks a legal basis and would risk escalating tensions with Moscow.
As the tanker nears the Caribbean, Washington is facing a familiar dilemma: a heavy-handed enforcement of its blockade that risks confrontation or allow Russia to breach it, thereby undermining the overall US strategy in the region.
This article was adapted from the original in French by Natasha Li.
Two aid boats go missing en route to Cuba, says Mexico
Why were the boats sailing to Havana?
The aid-carrying boats were part of efforts to provide relief to Cuba as it faces a severe energy and economic crisis due to a tightened US embargo on oil and other goods.
The Trump administration has tightened its blockade on Cube in January following the capture and deposing of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.
Volunteers in Mexico, last week, loaded boats with essentials like rice, beans, baby formula, wipes, and medicine as they prepared to set sail to Cuba. The vessels were a part of the "Nuestra America Convoy," a non-government initiative to deliver vital supplies to the struggling country.
One separate vessel from the convoy reached Havana on Tuesday.
"The captains and crews are experienced sailors, and both vessels are equipped with appropriate safety systems and signalling equipment," a spokesperson for the convoy said in a statement to Reuters.
"We are cooperating fully with the authorities and remain confident in the crews' ability to reach Havana safely."
Mexican authorities contacted maritime rescue coordination centers in several countries including Poland, France, Cuba and the US, the Navy said. They also contacted diplomatic representatives of the missing individuals' countries of origin, which have yet to be disclosed.
Edited by: Rana Taha
Mahima Kapoor Digital journalist based in New Delhi
DW with AFP and Reuters
26/03/2026
Two humanitarian aid boats with nine people onboard have not reached Havana after setting sail from Mexico. The Mexican navy is now conducting a search and rescue operation.
The two sailboats departed from Mexico last week but have yet to arrive in Havana as scheduled
Image: Paola Chiomante/REUTERS
The Mexican Navy activated search and rescue efforts in the Caribbean on Thursday, in hopes to locate two missing sailboats which were carrying humanitarian aid to crisis-hit Cuba.
The boats left Isla Mujeres, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, last week and were bound for Havana.
With nine people of different nationalities on board, the boats did not arrive in the Cuban capital on March 24 and March 25, as scheduled.
In a statement, the Navy appealed to seafarers and maritime authorities in the region to report any information or sightings. It said it was also using an aircraft to search the route between Isla Mujeres and Havana.
The Mexican Navy activated search and rescue efforts in the Caribbean on Thursday, in hopes to locate two missing sailboats which were carrying humanitarian aid to crisis-hit Cuba.
The boats left Isla Mujeres, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, last week and were bound for Havana.
With nine people of different nationalities on board, the boats did not arrive in the Cuban capital on March 24 and March 25, as scheduled.
In a statement, the Navy appealed to seafarers and maritime authorities in the region to report any information or sightings. It said it was also using an aircraft to search the route between Isla Mujeres and Havana.
Why were the boats sailing to Havana?
The aid-carrying boats were part of efforts to provide relief to Cuba as it faces a severe energy and economic crisis due to a tightened US embargo on oil and other goods.
The Trump administration has tightened its blockade on Cube in January following the capture and deposing of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro.
Volunteers in Mexico, last week, loaded boats with essentials like rice, beans, baby formula, wipes, and medicine as they prepared to set sail to Cuba. The vessels were a part of the "Nuestra America Convoy," a non-government initiative to deliver vital supplies to the struggling country.
One separate vessel from the convoy reached Havana on Tuesday.
"The captains and crews are experienced sailors, and both vessels are equipped with appropriate safety systems and signalling equipment," a spokesperson for the convoy said in a statement to Reuters.
"We are cooperating fully with the authorities and remain confident in the crews' ability to reach Havana safely."
Mexican authorities contacted maritime rescue coordination centers in several countries including Poland, France, Cuba and the US, the Navy said. They also contacted diplomatic representatives of the missing individuals' countries of origin, which have yet to be disclosed.
Edited by: Rana Taha
Mahima Kapoor Digital journalist based in New Delhi
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