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The tanker Eugenia Gas returned empty to Santiago de Cuba on Saturday, February 14, after being unable to load liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Jamaica, despite having arrived a few days earlier with that aim.
According to the independent media Diario de Cuba, researcher Jorge Piñón from the Energy Institute at the University of Texas reported that the ship is part of the fuel cabotage fleet managed by Cubametales, a subsidiary of the military conglomerate GAESA.
The ship, the expert said, returned after "another attempt" to approach the Petrojam refinery in Kingston, failing to load LPG, a move that also "cost it the little fuel" it was operating on.
The report indicates that this is the second failed attempt by a Cuban ship to load gas in Jamaica in two weeks.
In early February, the tanker Emilia, also dedicated to the transportation of LPG, traveled to the port of Kingston and returned without loading, according to a previous report mentioned in the note.
Amidst those failures, Havana sent another LPG ship, the Gas Exelero, to Willemstad (Curaçao), with an expected arrival on February 14, according to the same source.
Piñón also commented to Diario de Cuba about the petrochemical vessel Ocean Mariner, which —according to reports on social media— was allegedly intercepted south of Haiti by the USCG STONE 758 of the U.S. Coast Guard, but then continued its navigation "without incidents."
The expert stated that the "bill of lading" appeared to be in order and that the action was likely a warning due to the travel history to Cuba, in addition to speculating that the Ocean Mariner might be heading to the Dominican Republic to sell or unload fuel.
According to the report, the movements of vessels from the Cuban government —and any other ship attempting to supply crude oil to the Island— are under close inspection by the U.S.
The note indicates that the last confirmed shipment of fuel received by Cuba was on January 9, coming from Mexico and transported precisely by the Ocean Mariner, and that Venezuela ceased dispatching shipments to the Island in December.
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