U.S. Coast Guard Intercepts 'Dark Fleet' Vessels Bound for Cuba

The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that it had stopped two vessels illegally transporting fuel bound for Cuba. They are the cargo ship Grace and the support vessel Jaira Provider, both accused of concealing hydrocarbons in their ballast tanks, a practice the agency links to tactics typical of the so-called 'dark fleet.'

The Grace, a small container ship, was boarded by a Coast Guard tactical team in the Caribbean Sea in early September while sailing toward the island. The vessel was escorted to the port of Progreso, Mexico, where the Mexican Navy carried out an inspection and found large quantities of fuel stored in the ballast tanks, in addition to deck containers suspected of carrying further illicit cargo. The operation involved the cutters Alert and Charles Sexton, along with a surveillance aircraft and a law enforcement team.

Before the interception of the Grace, the Coast Guard had stopped the Jaira Provider, a support/tug vessel built in 1978, with a deadweight capacity of 2,647 tons and flagged in Saint Kitts and Nevis, which the agency described as a 'substandard' vessel. According to the New York Times, cited by Maritime Executive, that vessel was carrying 210,000 gallons of fuel on board when it was stopped, although the quantity found on the Grace was not reported.

Vice Admiral Nate Moore, Deputy Commandant for Operations of the Coast Guard, stated that illicit fuel shipments violate international law and pose serious environmental threats in the Caribbean Sea. For his part, the Commandant of the service, Admiral Kevin Lunday, warned that international waters are not a haven for illegality and that 'dark fleet' actors using deceptive tactics will not evade justice.

The interdictions come as part of the fuel embargo imposed by the Trump administration on the island, after Washington cut off Cuba's imports of Venezuelan oil, which caused blackouts and fuel shortages. In late March, the United States had allowed the arrival of an emergency shipment from Russia, but a second shipment was diverted after being tracked by the Coast Guard. The Cuban foreign minister described the blockade as an act of war before the UN General Assembly and noted that pressure from the Trump administration had become 'more cruel and dangerous,' while talks between the two countries show little progress.