WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard said it intercepted a large cargo ship carrying fuel bound for Cuba, as the Trump administration’s oil embargo against the island continued, The Guardian and Reuters reported Friday.
The vessel, named Grace and about 91 metres (300 feet) long, was stopped on September 5 in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Mexico. The Coast Guard said Grace was “believed to be employing tactics common amongst the dark fleet.” A boarding team escorted the ship to Mexico, where a Mexican navy inspection team “confirmed the presence of large quantities of fuel in the vessel’s ballast tanks” and containers believed to contain illicit fuel.
Adm. Kevin Lunday, the Coast Guard commandant, said in a statement: “The high seas are not a sanctuary for lawlessness. Dark fleet actors who employ deceptive tactics to engage in illicit activities will not evade justice.” The agency said the Grace interdiction followed an earlier boarding of the M/V Jaira Provider, another vessel it said was carrying illicit fuel toward Cuba.
A U.S.-imposed oil blockade earlier this year has intensified fuel shortages and blackouts in Cuba after shipments from traditional suppliers were disrupted. The Trump administration has said its goal is to change Cuba’s government. The Coast Guard statement did not say how authorities determined the fuel’s destination or how much fuel Grace carried.
Sources: The Guardian, Reuters
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