MIAMI, United States. – This Wednesday, October 2, a tanker loaded with fuel from Russia will dock in the Bay of Havana, just at a critical moment for the Island, which faces daily blackouts of up to 20 hours and an acute shortage of fuel for the generation of electricity.
According to satellite tracking of maritime monitoring platforms carried out by Cuban Diarythe PVT Clara, with the flag of Panama, will arrive in the Cuban capital after leaving the port of Svetly, in Kaliningrad, on September 14. This ship, with a cargo capacity of 20,831 tons, is one of the many vessels used by Russia to transport fuel, due to the sanctions imposed by the West after the invasion of Ukraine.
Although the fuel shipment from the PVT Clara will slightly alleviate the crisis on the Island, it will not be enough to resolve the serious energy situation that the country is experiencing.
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, recently explained that “in the current conditions of the restricted economy in Cuba, 3,000 tons of hydrocarbons are consumed daily, which means that a 20,000-ton ship is enough for a week.” In addition, he stressed that “two or three ships are needed weekly to supply diesel, gasoline, liquefied gas, fuel oil and turbofuel.”
So far this year, Cuba has received only sporadic shipments of oil from Russia, despite agreements announced with the state-owned Rosneft for a stable supply. However, these agreements have not materialized due to difficulties in negotiating a payment method.
Jorge Piñón, director of the Energy Program for Latin America and the Caribbean at the University of Texas, told Cuban Diary that between August 25 and September 19 the Island has received few fuel shipments.
Piñón suggested that the delay in unloading ships could be due to problems with “lines of credit or lack of cash,” which would make it impossible for companies to unload fuel without prior payment. In addition, he pointed out possible “technical problems in the refineries” that could be preventing the processing of crude oil.
The fuel deficit has seriously affected electricity production in Cuba. The state Electrical Union (UNE) reported that this Wednesday there will be a maximum deficit above 1,200 MW during the so-called peak hours.
Currently, power outages affect all provinces (although they are worse outside of Havana) and have reached up to 20 hours a day.
In May of this year, the Cuban ruler, Miguel Diaz-Canelsaid the country would experience “prolonged” power outages until June due to maintenance work on the energy system. This measure, according to authorities, seeks to reduce interruptions during the months of July and August, when consumption is highest.
“We are going to have extended maintenance until the month of June to minimize the annoyance of blackouts in the summer, especially in the months of July and August,” said Díaz-Canel in the sixth episode of his podcast. From the Presidency. The governor made it clear that the total absence of blackouts cannot be guaranteed: “We cannot commit to there being no blackouts. Due to the current conditions of the system, that commitment is not possible now,” he declared.
For his part, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, recently admitted that August was an “extremely tense” month, but assured that the Government was still looking for “solutions.”
The blackouts further complicate the country’s already tense energy situation. Power outages affect all provinces, reaching up to 10 hours a day, even in Havanawhere “scheduled” cuts are implemented by neighborhood, lasting approximately eight hours.
These blackouts not only deteriorate the economic performance of Cuba, which has been mired in a serious crisis for years, but have also been the trigger for anti-government protests. The most notable ones occurred on July 11, 2021the largest in decades, and most recently on March 17 in Santiago de Cuba and other locations.
