US Coast Guard intercepts fuel ship bound for Cuba

The US Coast Guard said Friday it intercepted a ship carrying fuel to Cuba in violation of a US oil blockade imposed in January.

The Coast Guard said a tactical team boarded the M/V Grace in the Caribbean Sea in early September while it was travelling to Cuba with fuel on board. It said the vessel was believed to be using tactics associated with the “dark fleet”, a term used for ships that transport sanctioned or high-risk commodities while concealing origin, ownership or destination.

The Grace was escorted to the port of Progreso in eastern Mexico. The Coast Guard said the Mexican navy confirmed large quantities of fuel in the vessel’s ballast tanks.

The Coast Guard said it had earlier boarded and detained another vessel, the Jaira Provider, which it described as a substandard ship carrying illicit fuel to Cuba.

Relations between Washington and Havana have worsened since President Donald Trump returned to power in January 2025. Trump says Cuba represents an extraordinary threat to the United States. Since January, Washington has imposed a de facto oil embargo on the island of 9.4 million people.