Desperate times: As sanctions bite, Russia ships Urals crude to Cuba

Russia exported Urals crude to Cuba in January onboard a tanker that is under US sanctions, a rare trade that reflects Moscow's widened search for buyers willing to take delivery using its shadow fleet of tankers, LSEG data showed.

The vessel Akademik Gubkin was loaded with 100,000 tonnes of Urals in the Russian Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga on January 29. The cargo is now crossing the Atlantic and will arrive at Cuba's Matanzas terminal on February 19.

The vessel in managed by Rosnefteflot, the marine transportation arm of the Russian oil company Rosneft, which delivers Urals crude produced by Rosneft, according to market sources and LSEG data.

Rosneft did not reply to requests for comments.

Akademik Gubkin was added to the US list of companies and individuals under sanctions on January 10 2025, when it imposed some of the harshest sanctions yet on Russia's oil industry, targeting vessels, dozens of traders, two major oil companies and some senior Russian oil executives.

One hundred and eighty-three vessels, largely oil tankers, that are part of the shadow fleet as well as oil tankers owned by Russia-based fleet operators and Rosnefteflot were affected.

The shadow fleet refers to hundreds of ships used to move oil in violation of international restrictions.

In 2024, Cuba imported from Russia only about 100,000 tonnes of crude oil, down from 200,000 tonnes in 2023 and 600,000 tonnes in 2022, LSEG data shows.

Since the European Union's full embargo on Russian crude oil went into effect in December 2022, the bulk of Russia's seaborne crude oil was redirected to other regions, mostly Asia.

Cuba is a Communist-run cash- and fuel-short country suffering from power outages and gasoline shortages. The Cuban government largely blames US sanctions imposed since 1959 for the crisis, charges that Washington denies.

(Reporting by Reuters;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)