According to The New York Times, the US Coast Guard has allowed a Russian tanker loaded with crude oil to reach Cuba.
The publication, citing an American official familiar with the matter, writes that the US Coast Guard allowed a Russian tanker loaded with crude oil to reach Cuba.
The publication adds that such actions were related to providing the island nation with much-needed energy supplies after several months of a de facto oil blockade by the administration of US President Donald Trump.
According to MarineTraffic, an online service for tracking ship movements, the tanker, carrying approximately 730,000 barrels of oil and owned by Russia, was several miles from Cuban territorial waters on Sunday evening.
However, according to the NYT, the Trump administration did not give these vessels the order to operate, meaning the Coast Guard planned to allow the tanker to reach Cuba.
The publication adds that it remains unclear why the White House did not order the tanker to be blocked, and whether it will allow Russian oil supplies to Cuba in the future.
