Russia covertly ships fuel to Cuba to bypass US sanctions, reports say
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Russia is secretly shipping oil to Cuba using deceptive shipping tactics to bypass U.S. sanctions as the island deals with fuel shortages and power outages, according to maritime intelligence reports.
One of the alleged deliveries took place in the midst of one of Cuba’s worst energy crises and before the grid collapse on March 16 that left nearly 10 million people without power, according to Cuban officials and officials. US Embassy in Cuba.
“The Hong Kong-flagged tanker, which was not sanctioned, has AIS patterns that indicate the tanker was mimicking its location and headed for Cuba to unload its cargo, possibly in early March.” Downwind Artificial Intelligence in question.
Finance Times It also reported on March 18 that another Russian-flagged tanker, Anatoly Kolodkin, carrying crude oil, was expected to reach Cuba by April 4.
“We are ready to provide all possible assistance,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a briefing to journalists about Cuba on March 17. Moscow Times reported.
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Russia uses deceptive maritime tactics to evade US sanctions on Cuba amid energy shortage (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
The alleged shipments came after senior officials at the State Department told Fox News that under existing law there were ways for Cuban companies and citizens to purchase oil, but that the Cuban regime had made it impossible.
The official confirmed that the US oil embargo only prevents the Cuban regime from purchasing oil.
Windward AI first identified the tanker Sea Horse as the key ship in the suspected secret oil delivery in its March 18 report.
The firm said the ship was thought to be carrying approximately 190,000 to 200,000 barrels to Cuba and exhibited behavior consistent with sanctions evasion. Although the ship is not under sanctions, Windward analysts have flagged many suspicious activities.
These included turning off the Automatic Identification System (AIS) during a ship-to-ship transfer near Cyprus (presumably where she loaded her cargo) and going to sea without Western insurance; both of these were common indicators of sanctions overreach.
The tanker also changed its stated destination several times; after initially signaling Havana, he proceeded to “Gibraltar for orders”; this was a tactic often used to conceal final delivery points.
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The tanker, flying the Cuban flag, docked at Havana port on February 9, 2026. (YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
After crossing the Atlantic he appeared to drift as he broadcast that he was “not under command”; analysts suggested that AIS signals may have been manipulated to hide its true location and activities.
These movements strongly indicate that the ship may have completed an undeclared delivery to Cuba before resuming normal transmissions.
Since January 29 US measures He created an effective oil blockade, disrupting fuel shipments to the island.
The policy change follows major changes in Venezuela and the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, further tightening supplies to Cuba and discouraging other tankers from approaching that country’s ports.
While President Donald Trump warned that countries supplying oil to Cuba could face tariffs, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned the measures as “economic war” in a post shared on X and promised that resistance would continue.
“The only way for Cuba to fix its energy crisis is to address the root cause of its economic failures: complete government control of economic life,” a U.S. official told Fox News on March 17.
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People walk on the street during a power outage in Havana, Cuba, on Monday, March 16, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa/AP)
“The regime must make significant changes that allow for privatization and for the Cuban people to provide for themselves,” they said.
Otherwise, another senior State Department official said, power outages in Cuba “have unfortunately become common in Cuba for many years – a symptom of the failed regime’s incompetence and inability to provide even the most basic goods and services to its people.”
“This is the tragic result of more than 60 years of communist rule. An island that was once the jewel of the Caribbean has been plunged into extreme poverty and darkness.
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“As President Trump has said, what’s left of the regime should make a deal and eventually allow the Cuban people to be free and prosperous with the help of the United States,” the official said.
“Cuba is in a very bad situation right now. They’re talking to Marco,” Trump told reporters on March 17, adding that “we’re going to do something with Cuba very soon.”
