Russian oil tanker docks in Cuba after US blockade relief

A Russian-owned tanker carrying an estimated 730,000 barrels of crude oil had docked on the northern coast of Cuba, ending a near-total fuel blockade by the US. The tanker's arrival marks the first crude oil shipment to dock in one of Cuba's ports since early January.

US President Donald Trump's decision to let Russia deliver the oil avoids a confrontation with Russia and provides temporary relief to a country that has endured blackouts. The deputy director of the state-run oil firm CUPET told that the Russian crude will be refined to produce gasoline for transportation as well as diesel and fuel oil for backup power generators.