Turkish floating power plant changes route to Cuba

The MV Karadeniz Powership İrem Sultan floating power plant, owned by the Turkish company Karpowership, was diverted from the Dominican Republic to Cuba as a preventive measure due to unrest in the province of Azua.

The ship would be installed in the community of Los Negros, but the disturbances in the area prevented the process from continuing, Carlos Matamoros, company representative, explained to the newspaper. Free Diary.

“We have not been able to build the transmission line having all the permits, the population has not allowed us to finish the work on the line,” he said.

As a result of the unrest, three contractors were injured, vehicle windows were destroyed, and threats were made to burn equipment.

The general secretary of the Los Negros Port Workers Union, César Beltré, said he was unaware of the destruction of the company's equipment, but reported that an appeal for protection against installing the barge was presented to the courts.

This situation generates losses for the Turkish company and according to its representative in the Dominican Republic, the authorities are looking for a solution to the crisis.

Meanwhile, it will dock in Cuba “as long as necessary” to finish the work related to the transmission line.

Karpowership has not responded to messages sent by CyberCuba about the situation and the estimated time that the presence of the vessel in Cuban waters may take.

The MV Karadeniz Powership İrem Sultan is a floating power plant. It was built in 1984 and it was not until 2014 that the adaptations were made to provide its energy supply services. It has supplied power to the Zambian power grid, via Mozambique.

The Turkish company is present in Cuba after the signing of an agreement, turning that Caribbean country into the first nation in the area to receive electrical energy in this way. The project contributes 420 mW to the National Energy System, according to data from the company itself.

Cuba pays Karpowership with the management of the Havana shipyard for a period of 25 years, because it cannot afford the 260 million dollars per month that the service costs.