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Russia is covertly shipping oil to Cuba using deceptive shipping tactics to bypass U.S. sanctions, according to maritime intelligence reports, and as the island grapples with fuel shortages and power outages.
One alleged delivery came amid one of Cuba’s worst energy crises and ahead of a grid collapse on March 16 which left roughly 10 million people without electricity, according to Cuban authorities and the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.
“The Hong Kong-flagged tanker, which is not sanctioned, has AIS patterns that suggest the tanker spoofed its location and likely sailed to Cuba to discharge its cargo in early March,” Windward AI said.
The Financial Times also reported March 18 that another Russian-flagged tanker, Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying crude oil, was expected to reach Cuba by April 4.
“We are ready to provide all possible assistance,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had told reporters at a briefing on Cuba on March 17, The Moscow Times reported.
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Russia uses deceptive maritime tactics to bypass U.S. sanctions on struggling Cuba amid energy shortages (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
The alleged shipments came as senior officials at the State Department told Fox News that, under existing law, there are ways for Cuban companies and citizens to purchase oil, but said the Cuban regime is making that impossible.
The U.S. oil embargo prevents the Cuban regime from purchasing oil only, the official confirmed.
Windward AI first identified the tanker, Sea Horse, as the key vessel in the suspected clandestine oil delivery in its report on March 18.
The firm said the vessel was thought to have transported around 190,000 to 200,000 barrels to Cuba while engaging in behavior consistent with sanctions evasion. Although the vessel is not under sanctions, Windward analysts flagged several suspicious activities.
These included switching off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) during a ship-to-ship transfer near Cyprus — where it likely loaded its cargo — and sailing without Western insurance, both common indicators of sanctions circumvention.
The tanker also repeatedly altered its stated destination, initially signaling Havana before changing to “Gibraltar for orders,” a tactic often used to obscure final delivery points.
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A tanker sailing under the flag of Cuba, arrives at the port of Havana on February 9, 2026. (YAMIL LAGE / AFP via Getty Images)
After crossing the Atlantic, it appeared to drift while broadcasting that it was “not under command,” with analysts suggesting its AIS signals may have been manipulated to conceal its true location and activities.
These movements strongly indicate that the vessel may have completed an unreported delivery to Cuba before resuming normal transmissions.
Since Jan. 29, U.S. measures — effectively creating an oil blockade — have disrupted fuel shipments to the island.
The policy shift followed major changes in Venezuela and the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, further tightening supply to Cuba and discouraging other tankers from approaching its ports.
President Donald Trump had warned that countries supplying oil to Cuba could face tariffs, while Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the measures as an “economic war” and pledged continued resistance in a post shared on X.
“The only way for Cuba to fix its energy crisis is to address the root cause of its economic failures: total government control of economic life,” a U.S. official told Fox News on March 17.
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People walk on the street during a blackout in Havana, Cuba, on Monday, March 16, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa/AP)
“The regime must make significant changes, allowing for privatization and for the Cuban people to provide for themselves,” they said.
Otherwise, another senior State Department official said Cuba’s blackouts have “sadly become common for many years in Cuba — a symptom of the failing regime’s incompetence and inability to provide even the most basic goods and services for its people.”
“This is the tragic result of over 60 years of Communist rule. An island that was once the crown jewel of the Caribbean has plunged into extreme poverty and darkness.
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“As President Trump has said, what is left of the regime should make a deal and finally let the Cuban people be free and prosperous, with the help of the United States,” the official said.
“Cuba right now is in very bad shape. They’re talking to Marco,” Trump told reporters March 17 before adding that “we’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon.”