Rising Gas Prices as Russian Tanker Stalls

The Russian-flagged tanker Universal, carrying 270,000 barrels of desperately needed diesel fuel, has reportedly stalled in the middle of the Atlantic, 1,000 miles from the island, according to publicly available ship-tracking data. This potential lifeline is being throttled just as Cuba's energy crisis reaches a breaking point under the intensified oil blockade. The Universal was scheduled to dock in Cuba on April 29.

The Universal represents the only attempt to deliver fuel since the Russian tanker Anatoly Kolodkin docked in Cuba’s northern port of Matanzas on March 31 with 730,000 barrels of crude.

Before that, the island had gone three months without receiving a single significant oil delivery as the U.S. stopped fuel from reaching the island, a blockade that was formalized with Trump’s January 29 executive orderthreatening tariffs on countries exporting oil to Cuba.

The Cuban people are paying the price. 

Cuba’s Ministry of Finance and Prices announced Tuesday that gasoline prices will begin fluctuating with international import costs. Officials said prices will now reflect freight, insurance, supply routes and volatility on the global market. 

On Wednesday, Havana experienced blackouts lasting up to 22 hours as temperatures topped 32°C (90°F), prompting protests in parts of the capital. 

The Cuban Electric Union (UNE) reported Thursday severe electric outages across the entire eastern region of the island.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the energy situation “tense,” warning of a 2,000 MW shortfall during Wednesday’s peak nighttime demand.

“We have absolutely no fuel, we have absolutely no diesel,” said Cuba’s Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy on Wednesday.

De la O Levy said the 100,000 tons of oil that arrived in Cuba from Russia at the end of March “have already been exhausted.” He added that once the Russian crude had been processed, “the hours of impact decreased considerably.” In regions such as Havana, this led to “several days with no blackouts.”

Watch our video as Cubans speak out against the human cost of Trump’s oil blockade and the “collective punishment” of their country.