The US government will allow a Russian tanker full of crude oil to reach Cuba, effectively easing a blockade that has pushed the island into an energy crisis, according to a report.
The New York Times, citing a US official familiar with the matter, reported that the Russian-flagged tanker Anatoly Kolodkin was heading to Cuba on Sunday, carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of oil.
Ship tracking data showed the tanker Anatoly Kolodkin was off the eastern tip of Cuba on Sunday.
“We have a tanker over there. We wouldn’t mind someone getting a boatload, because they need…they have to survive,” President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday when asked about the report.
He added: “If a country wants to send some oil to Cuba now, I have no problem whether it is Russia or not.”
Trump has sought to restrict oil shipments to Cuba in an attempt to pressure its government.
The US government has temporarily eased some sanctions on Russian oil shipments to help stabilize global energy markets amid unrest in the Strait of Hormuz following US and Israeli military strikes on Iran that began last month.
The Anatoly Kolodkin, which left Primorsk, Russia, could soon dock at the port of Matanzas in Cuba if it remains on its current course, according to tracking services MarineTraffic and LSEG.
The oil would provide major relief to Cuba, as President Miguel Díaz-Canel said fuel shortages have continued for several months, leading to strict gas rationing and worsening the island’s energy crisis.
The US arrest of then-Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in January stripped away a key Cuban ally that had been supplying the island with oil on favorable terms.
The Trump administration then blocked all Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and vowed to impose punitive tariffs on any third country supplying the island with shipments, forcing Mexico to halt its exports to Cuba.
Another ship, the Hong Kong-flagged Sea Horse, was also carrying about 200,000 barrels of Russian fuel to Cuba, but was rerouted to Venezuela.