Voyages

Voyage of ANATOLY KOLODKIN

Shadow tanker transiting Caribbean Sea Fri Mar 27 12:24:56 CET 2026 Timsen The sanctioned 'Anatoly Kolodkin' is currently transiting the Caribbean Sea with a cargo of approximately 730,000 barrels of unrefined crude oil. After crossing the Atlantic at an average speed of 11 knots, the tanker has updated its AIS vector, indicating a direct heading toward Cuba. On March 26, it was five sailing days away. The last tanker to dock in Cuba with crude oil from abroad was the 'Ocean Mariner' on Jan 9, carrying cargo from Mexico. As the shipment was oil, whileCuba needs is diesel, the cargo (and the ship's size suggested that the 'Anatoly Kolodkin' could head either to the oil logistics hub of Matanzas (northwest) or to Cienfuegos (south-central), a bay with a major refinery. The transit through the English Channel and the Ouessant Strait around March 16 had been conducted under the escort of the Russian Navy Steregushchiy-class corvette 'Soobrazitelniy', suggesting a strategic priority for the shipment. A U.S. Navy Destroyer has been positioned in the waters north of Cuba. Analysts expected the tanker to disable its AIS, once it approaches the Cuban coast to obscure the exact point of discharge. The shipment appeared to be a critical energy supply mission to mitigate the current fuel deficit in Cuba. While the Hong Kong-flagged tanker 'Sea Horse', transporting a cargo of diesel fuel, was diverted to Trinidad due to mechanical failure, the 'Anatoly Kolodkin' remains the primary Russian energy vector active in the region.