THE NEW YORK TIMES: A Russian oil tanker is being closely tracked to see if it will challenge the Trump administration’s blockade on Cuba.
A Russian tanker full of oil is moving through the Atlantic Ocean and drawing scrutiny to see if it is heading to Cuba, a potential test of the U.S. oil blockade of the island, according to shipping data and industry analysts.
The ultimate destination of the tanker is still unknown. But if Russia is attempting to send oil to Cuba, as some analysts suspect, it could represent a critical lifeline for the Cuban government — and a new potential showdown between two superpowers over the small island nation.
Cuba has not received a significant shipment of fuel since Jan. 9, soon after the United States captured Venezuela’s president and took control of its oil exports, which once largely powered Cuba.
That is causing a severe crisis for Cuba. The Trump administration has threatened other nations not to send fuel, hoping to choke Cuba’s government into submission.
The tanker, called the Anatoly Kolodkin and owned by the Russian government, is carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of crude oil, which analysts estimate could buy Cuba weeks of energy. » | Christiaan Triebert and Jack Nicas | The reporters analyzed ship-tracking data and satellite images and spoke to oil-shipping analysts for this article. | Thursday, March 19, 2026
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