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The tanker Sandino arrived this Saturday at the port of Matanzas from the bay of Nipe (Holguín), one of Cuba's main logistical points for the reception, storage, and transshipment of hydrocarbons.
According to data from maritime monitoring sites, the vessel has an estimated capacity of between 390,000 and 410,000 barrels. However, there are no official details about the actual volume transported.
According to the same source, the vessel had loaded in the bay of Nipe in the days prior, although the origin of the cargo at that point remains unknown, so the initial source of the fuel is not specified.
Nipe Bay, located in Holguín, serves as one of Cuba's main oil hubs for the reception, storage, and transshipment of imported crude. Through the Antilla terminal and its anchorages, the country receives shipments on large vessels and then redistributes them using smaller tankers to ports and refineries such as Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Havana, or Santiago de Cuba, in a logistical framework that is crucial for internal supply.
During the first weeks of 2026, the energy crisis in Cuba has highlighted a deep deterioration in the regime's ability to ensure the supply of fuel.
The year began with alarming signs: six vessels operated by the military conglomerate GAESA concentrated in the bay of Matanzas the last available oil reserves, according to reports from independent sources.
Experts then warned that the country was "emptying its own tanks to buy time," while electricity generation and fuel distribution were on the brink of collapse.
In mid-January, the situation worsened with the diversion of the tanker Mia Grace, which had departed from Togo heading to Cuba with a cargo of diesel or fuel oil.
In the midst of its journey across the Atlantic, the ship changed course towards the Dominican Republic, reflecting the challenges faced by the Cuban government in securing supply agreements and the increasing financial isolation that prevents it from accessing traditional energy markets.
A few days later, the tanker LPG Emilia was detected sailing towards the south of Cuba with a possible cargo of liquefied petroleum gas.
The reactivation of its movement, after more than a month of inactivity, was interpreted as an attempt by the regime to sustain the minimal distribution of domestic energy. However, its journey also highlighted the island's dependence on an aging fleet, operated almost entirely by state-controlled entities.
By February, a new indication of Cuba's energy precariousness emerged from Venezuela.
A tanker linked to the island loaded 150,000 barrels of gasoline at a Venezuelan port, in what analysts consider an effort to resume fuel shipments under the supervision of the United States.
The operation coincided with the worsening of long lines at gas stations, prolonged blackouts, and restrictions on public transportation, symptoms of an energy system on the brink of structural collapse.
The concatenation of these episodes shows that Cuba is experiencing an energy crisis that goes beyond the temporary scarcity of fuel.
The lack of solid allies, the reduction of supplies from Venezuela, and the inability to access international credit have led the country to operate with minimal reserves and to depend on sporadic shipments.
In this scenario, the arrival of a tanker in Matanzas, like the Sandino, is perceived less as a sustained relief and more as a temporary respite within a landscape of economic and energy exhaustion.
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