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Cuba News

01 Mar 2024

Venezuela Oil Exports Rising, but Shipping Delays Persist

© Vladimir / Adobe Stock

Venezuela's oil exports slightly increased in February to some 670,000 barrels per day (bpd), but ongoing shipping delays worsened a bottleneck of tankers waiting to load, according to documents and vessel monitoring data.State-run oil firm PDVSA's customers have rushed to send tankers to Venezuela in recent months to pick up crude and fuel before the United States potentially reimposes oil sanctions.Restrictions could resume on April 18 when an existing license expires, the U.S.

10 Aug 2023

Cuban Oil Tankers Becoming Regular Visitors to Mexican Ports

Cuba has begun using its own tankers to ramp up crude imports from Mexico, which in the second quarter surpassed Russia as a key oil provider to the fuel-thirsty island, according to vessel monitoring data.Following days-long lines to fill drivers' tanks and power blackouts, the communist-run nation saddled with harsh U.S. economic sanctions has broadened its sources of oil imports in a move to ease fuel scarcity, replenish stocks and reduce dependence on its traditional and largest supplier, Venezuela. Washington has also sanctioned Venezuela's oil industry since 2019 over election-fraud claims.Mexico has emerged as a top provider, sending oil on a vessel owned by state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) and ships managed by Cuba.

28 Apr 2023

Commercial Ships Rescue Three from Burning Boat in the Caribbean

Nordic Ann (Photo: MOL Chemical Tankers)

A pair of commercial ships on April 24 rescued three people from the water after their vessel went up in flames due to engine malfunction in the Caribbean.At 7:30 a.m., the officer on watch aboard the Danish-flagged chemical tanker Nordic Ann spotted a drifting boat on fire and immediately informed the ship's master. The tanker reduced speed and approached the scene to investigate the situation and found a small boat on fire and three persons in water.Meanwhile, a nearby containership also approached…

04 Apr 2023

Venezuela's March Oil Exports Rise on More Supertankers, Chevron Cargoes

©Carabay/AdobeStock

Venezuela's oil exports rose in March to the highest monthly average since August, boosted by a resumption of loadings after an export freeze and by rising cargoes assigned to Chevron Corp, according to documents and shipping data.State oil company PDVSA has reinstated two export contracts after a January freeze by new boss Pedro Tellechea: a medium-term contract with Hangzhou Energy, and another with Portugal-based Adinius Sociedade de Servicios, the documents showed. Those two customers accounted for a large portion of exports…

30 Mar 2023

Valero Seeks US Approval to Import Venezuelan Oil

© Tada Images / Adobe Stock

Valero Energy Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil refiner, is seeking Washington's permission to import Venezuelan crude, according to four people close to the matter, hoping for a repeat of the approval granted to Chevron Corp in November after a four-year ban.President Joe Biden's administration has eased some U.S. sanctions on the OPEC-member nation in an effort to encourage a political dialogue with the country's opposition. That has led to further pressure from U.S., European and Asian energy firms…

23 Mar 2023

Oil Spills and Near Misses: More Ghost Tankers Ship Sanctioned Fuel

© komi$ar / Adobe Stock

An oil tanker runs aground off eastern China, leaking fuel into the water. Another is caught in a collision near Cuba. A third is seized in Spain for drifting out of control.These vessels were part of a "shadow" fleet of tankers carrying oil last year from countries hit by Western sanctions, according to a Reuters analysis of ship tracking and accident data and interviews with more than a dozen industry specialists.Hundreds of extra ships have joined this opaque parallel trade…

13 Mar 2023

Venezuela to Ship Fuel to Cuba on US-blacklisted Supertanker

© Igor Groshev / Adobe Stock

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA on Monday was loading a supertanker with crude and fuel for Cuba, maritime documents showed, an unusually large volume to help its political ally overcome an energy crisis with repeated blackouts.Several big electrical outages this year have left many in Cuba concerned about power supplies this summer, when residents crank up air conditioning to stay cool in the Caribbean heat.Cuban officials have blamed the intermittent power on difficulties processing heavy sour Cuban crude and fuel shortages on the island…

30 Jan 2023

Venezuela's PDVSA Tightens Oil Prepayment Rules

Copyright Alexander Sánchez/AdobeStock

Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA is toughening terms for buyers after a month-long halt to most exports of crude and fuel, demanding prepayment ahead of loadings in either cash, goods or services, company documents showed.PDVSA's new Chief Executive Pedro Tellechea put the move in place this month. It reinforces measures implemented last year after several buyers skipped out on payments for oil, which provides most of the South American country's income.After taking the helm, Tellechea launched an extensive audit of supply contracts…

17 Jan 2023

Venezuela's PDVSA Freezes Most Oil Exports for Contract Reviews

© poonsit / Adobe Stock

The new head of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA has suspended most oil export contracts while his team reviews them in a move to avoid payment defaults, according to an internal document seen by Reuters and people familiar with the matter.Since U.S. trading sanctions were first imposed on PDVSA in 2019, the company has increasingly resorted to little known middlemen to allocate its oil exports, leading to big price discounts and problems with payments affecting its cashflow.The freeze order is leading to port delays…

01 Jan 2023

US Judge Orders Norwegian Cruise Line to Pay $110 Million for Use of Cuba Port

© IanDewarPhotography / Adobe Stock

Norwegian Cruise Line must pay $110 million in damages for use of a port that Cuba's government confiscated in 1960, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday, a milestone for Cuban-Americans seeking compensation for Cold-War era asset seizures.The decision by U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami follows her March ruling that the use of the Havana Cruise Port Terminal constituted trafficking in confiscated property owned by the plaintiff, Delaware-registered Havana Docks Corp."Judgment is entered in favor of Plaintiff Havana Docks Corporation and against Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings…

30 Nov 2022

Venezuelan Oil Exports Flow Using False Documents, Ships Linked to Iran

When the supertanker Young Yong sailed to the Chinese port of Qingdao in September last year, it had quality certificates for its cargo stating it was transporting Malaysian crude oil, according to the documents reviewed by Reuters.But satellite images and photos show the Chinese-owned ship had loaded the oil four months earlier in Venezuela, an OPEC nation in South America under U.S. oil sanctions.The Young Yong is one of three vessels identified by Reuters that were chartered by little-known companies to export Venezuelan oil and used false documents to conceal its origin, according to shipping documents and 11 sources with knowledge of the trade.Two of those tankers, including the Young Yong, were designated this month by U.S.

21 Nov 2022

At Least One Dead after Cuban Migrant Vessel Capsizing off Florida

©USCG/Twitter

The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday said it had recovered the body of one person after a vessel carrying Cuban migrants capsized off Florida's Little Torch Key, adding it rescued nine people and was searching for five others. Survivors told rescuers a total of 19 people were originally on the homemade vessel and that four people drowned immediately after it capsized, Coast Guard spokesperson Nicole Groll said. Rough seas and winds of 30 miles per hour made an already dangerous voyage more perilous, she said.

20 Oct 2022

Venezuela Gives US Two Months to Request 'Fat Leonard' Extradition

(Image: US Marshals Service)

Venezuela's top court has ruled to give the U.S. government 60 days to request the extradition of fugitive Malaysian businessman Leonard Glenn Francis, also known by his alias "Fat Leonard," who is implicated in a U.S. Navy bribery case.The supreme court ruling was issued last week but only made public on Wednesday by a reporter with official media.Francis was arrested on Sept. 21 at Caracas' main airport as he prepared to leave for Russia. The U.S. government had previously issued…

17 Oct 2022

Rosneft Moves Into Tanker Chartering as EU Ban Looms

© vladimir18 / Adobe Stock

Russia's biggest oil exporter Rosneft has expanded its tanker chartering business to ease oil shipments for buyers amid looming Western sanctions on insurance of Russian oil shipments, three sources familiar with the matter said.Previously, state-controlled Rosneft, which produces more than 40% of Russian oil, would sell its oil at the port of loading, meaning the buyer would have to find tankers and handle freight and insurance costs for the voyage.But with new, tighter Western sanctions looming…

27 Sep 2022

US Offshore Oil Output Drops as Hurricane Ian Approaches

(Photo: NOAA)

U.S. offshore oil producers on Tuesday were keeping a wary eye on Hurricane Ian's track as the powerful storm shut-in at least 480,000 barrels of oil production as it heads toward Florida.The hurricane entered the U.S. Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and is forecast to become a dangerous, Category 4 storm over the warm waters of the Gulf, according to National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecaster Eric Blake.Ian weakened after crossing Cuba and was packing winds of 115 miles per hour (185 km per hour), the NHC said.

22 Sep 2022

Venezuela Arrests 'Fat Leonard' Contractor in US Navy Bribery Case

(Image: US Marshals Service)

Venezuelan police have arrested a fugitive Malaysian businessman nicknamed 'Fat Leonard' who is at the center of a major U.S. Navy bribery scandal, as he prepared to leave the country for Russia, Venezuelan Interpol said.Leonard Glenn Francis was detained at the country's main international airport on Wednesday under a red notification requested by the United States for crimes of corruption and bribery, the Interpol chief in Venezuela said in a statement posted on Instagram.The…

31 Aug 2022

Cuba Seeks More Electricity Supply from Turkish Powerships

©IzzetNoyan/AdobeStock

Cuba, mired in an energy crisis that has brought frequent blackouts, is negotiating with a Turkish company to have it double the megawatts it currently produces for the country from shipboard generators just offshore, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.Cuban officials are in talks with Karpowership, one of the world’s largest operators of floating power plants and part of the Turkey-based Karadeniz Holding, the sources said. The company already has five…

10 Aug 2022

Cuba Tames Mega Port Fire

© elephotos / Adobe Stock

Massive clouds of steam rose from Cuba's largest fuel depot in Matanzas on Wednesday as firefighters, helicopters and boats poured water and foam on the smoldering remains of the largest fire in the island's history.Black charcoal covered with white ash remained red hot after the flames died down. One firefighter was confirmed dead, and 14 were unaccounted for since blast on Saturday, according to authorities."We can now say that the fire is controlled," Lt. Colonel Alexander Avalos, deputy chief of the firefighters tackling the blaze, told the media at the scene.

25 Aug 2022

Cuba Boosts Fuel Imports, Reshuffles Shipping Operations After Terminal Fire

Cuba is using a combination of ship-to-ship transfers and floating oil storage to ease fuel scarcity and power cuts following a fire that destroyed a portion of its main oil terminal, vessel tracking data showed.Cubans have endured daily blackouts and long waits for gasoline in the aftermath of the blaze, which hit the 2.4-million-barrel Matanzas terminal and killed 16 people this month.Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel's administration has increased fuel imports from Europe and the Caribbean while Venezuela and Mexico have helped the communist-ruled island with specialized crews and equipment to extinguish the fire, triggered by lightning, and rebuild infrastructure.More than 3 million barrels of Venezuelan crude and fuel, Russian oil, European diesel and liquefied petroleum gas from Domi

12 Aug 2022

Russian Oil Tanker Bound for Fire-ravaged Cuban Terminal Diverts to Smaller Port

Credit: John Verhulst

A cargo of Russian oil bound for Cuba's Matanzas terminal has been diverted to a smaller port, following a spectacular fire that destroyed a large portion of the island's main oil terminal, vessel monitoring data showed on Thursday.Lengthy power blackouts have followed the fatal blaze, which killed one firefighter and left 14 others missing. The outages are a sign of how the accident is aggravating a long-standing energy crisis due to an obsolete power grid and lack of fuel.The Liberia-flagged tanker NS Laguna carrying 700…

10 Aug 2022

Five More Migrants Lost at Sea from Capsized Makeshift Vessel off Florida

A cruise ship rescued one person and transferred the individual to Coast Guard crews after being found swimming off the Florida Keys, Aug. 5, 2022. The person's rustic vessel capsized approximately 14 miles off Sugarloaf Key. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Coast Guard Cutter Issac Mayo's crew)

The U.S. Coast Guard has called off its search for five migrants missing in waters off the Florida Keys since their makeshift vessel capsized on Friday, adding to the dozens lost at sea in attempted boat crossings from Cuba in recent months.The five who disappeared about 14 miles (23 km) south of Sugar Loaf Key brought to seven the toll of dead or presumed dead in Friday's accident, even as the Coast Guard on Tuesday repatriated another 43 Cubans intercepted elsewhere in the Keys…

10 Aug 2022

Venezuela Diverts Oil Cargoes as Cuba Terminal Fire Continues

Credit:  komi$ar/AdobeStock

Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA diverted two crude cargoes set to discharge at Cuba's Matanzas terminal, Refinitiv Eikon data and company documents showed on Tuesday, as a fire that devastated 40% of the island's main storage facility continued for a fifth day.Lightning on Friday set one crude storage tank at the 2.4-million-barrel facility ablaze, later spreading to three others, resulting in massive power outages.As most of Venezuela's oil shipments to Cuba typically go to…

16 Aug 2022

Venezuela to Support Reconstruction of Cuban Port Damaged by Oil Fire

© Oleksii / Adobe Stock

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday that Venezuela would support Cuba in the reconstruction of its only supertanker port in Matanzas, which was partially destroyed by a fire after lightning struck one of the its crude tanks.Cuba has long relied on the 2.4 million-barrel Matanzas terminal, about 130 km from Havana, for most imports and storage of crude and heavy fuel oil.Maduro directed Venezuela's oil minister and the president of state-run PDVSA to get in touch with the corresponding Cuban authorities "to begin the design of the reconstruction of the supertanker yard," he said