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In the midst of the severe energy crisis affecting Cuba, the Russian tanker Akademik Gubkin, with a cargo of approximately 790,000 barrels of oil, arrived at the northeastern coast of the country this Tuesday, February 18, as shown by maritime tracking platforms.
The shipment is valued at 55 million dollars. This is one of the largest shipments of oil the island has received in recent times, in a context where energy restrictions have reached critical levels.
The Akademik Gubkin set sail on January 29 from the Baltic port of Ust-Luga and is currently in the vicinity of Nipe Bay, in Holguín, although it is possible that it may unload in Matanzas or Havana, according to information obtained by the agency EFE through the Energy Institute at the University of Texas.
The energy specialist from that university, Jorge Piñón, noted that this vessel is "perhaps one of the largest and deepest tankers arriving in Cuba."
He emphasized that the tanker "is almost at full capacity," as its total capacity is 818,902 barrels.
Additionally, Piñón emphasized that this shipment "demonstrates the interest of the Russians in exporting the largest volume of oil under the current sanctions."
The vessel is operated by Rosnefteflot, the maritime transport division of Rosneft, the Russian state-owned oil company, responsible for the distribution of Urals crude oil.
This operation reflects Moscow's strategy to diversify its buyers through its parallel fleet of tankers, according to data from London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), a global company specializing in financial data and market infrastructure.
A ship under U.S. sanctions
The Akademik Gubkin (IMO 9842190) was added on January 10 of this year to the sanctions list of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, under the section pertaining to Rosnefteflot.
The Joe Biden administration imposed these restrictions just before leaving office as part of a sanctions package against the Russian oil industry, which affected 183 vessels, including ships from the so-called "shadow fleet."
This fleet consists of ships used to sidestep international restrictions on oil trade, facilitating shipments to countries that evade Western sanctions.
Decline in Russian crude oil imports
According to data from LSEG, in 2024 Cuba imported approximately 100,000 tons of Russian crude, which represents a significant decline compared to the 200,000 tons in 2023 and the 600,000 tons in 2022.
The decrease in these shipments coincides with the entry into force of the total European Union embargo on Russian oil in December 2022, which forced Moscow to redirect most of its maritime exports toward Asia and other markets.
Tourism for oil and financial negotiations
In recent months, Rosneft organized flights to Cuba for hundreds of the company's employees, who visited the island under a tourism-for-oil scheme approved by Moscow and Havana.
Meanwhile, the Cuban ambassador in Russia, Julio Antonio Garmendía, announced at the beginning of this year that both governments were negotiating a credit of 60 million dollars for the purchase of Russian fuel. However, to date, it has not been confirmed whether the agreement was finalized.
The sanctions imposed by the United States aim to disrupt the flow of income to the Kremlin, which relies heavily on hydrocarbon exports to finance its invasion of Ukraine.
However, despite the restrictions, Russia continues to use its network of sanctioned oil tankers to maintain its exports and strengthen its ties with strategic allies like Cuba.
Meanwhile, the island is more than ever in need of fuel, as the country is facing an imminent energy collapse, a situation that has been particularly exacerbated in recent days following the shutdown of unit 1 at the Felton Thermoelectric Plant from the National Electric System (SEN) due to a breakdown that will keep it out of service for at least 20 days.
The energy deficit in Cuba
The arrival of Russian oil comes at a critical time for the Island. Piñón estimates that, based on official data from 2022, Cuba is facing a daily deficit of approximately 80,000 barrels of liquid fuels, essential for operating its deteriorated electricity generation system.
However, the expert notes that by 2024, demand has decreased by 20,000 barrels per day, partly due to shipments from Venezuela and, above all, from Mexico.
A report from the state-owned oil company Pemex, submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, revealed that Mexico exported oil and derivatives to Cuba worth 500 million dollars between January and September 2024, as reported by the newspaper El Financiero.
For its part, the Cuban government attributes the crisis in electricity generation to a decrease in crude oil imports from allied countries and has taken steps to increase the share of solar energy in the national energy matrix.
Currently, solar energy accounts for only 9% of the total consumption in Cuba, significantly surpassed by imported fossil fuels.
To this end, Cuban authorities have launched a program that aims to build 100 solar parks across the country by 2031, with an installed capacity of approximately 2,000 megawatts.
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