MARIA CRISTINA

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Tankers called to remove oil after fire in Supertanker Base

The "María Cristina" arrived in Matanzas Bay on Aug 7, 2022, to participate in the removal of crude oil found in the deposits of the Supertanker Base safe from a fire that broke out on Aug 5. The diesel is distributed in gas stations in Matanzas and Havana. The tanks at the Matanzas Supertanker Base that caught fire contained crude oil and fuel, in that order. The light fuels contained in the rest of the tanks were removed with tank trucks and by ship. The fear of a possible spread of the fire to the neighbuoring tanks and the need to recover as much of possible of the contents of the tanks have prompted the Cuban authorities to transfer the stored diesel. So far a third of the fuel tanks has not collapsed. Also the 180-m-vessel 'Amalia' was called from Cienfuegos and will arrive in the city on Aug 9 , to assist in the fuel removal. Report with video: https://www.cibercuba.com/noticias/2022-08-07-u1-e207888-s27061-atraca-matanzas-buque-capacidad-evacuar-6-mil-toneladas

US sanctioned tankers connecting Cuba and Venezoela

The 'Maria Cristiana' which has been sanctioned by the US transferred jet fuel between Venezuela and Cuba. The Panamanian ship. then named 'Carlota C', was sanctioned in 2019 by the United States Government for dispatching gasoline from Venezuela to Cuba. Actually it continues to operate under a different flag and with the new name. It was anchored at the El Palito refinery in Puerto Cabello, Carabobo, between May 13 and 16, 2020. In that period, it loaded Jet A-1 fuel, commonly used by aviation, and left for Venezuela. The change was carried out by the regimes of Venezuela and Cuba to evade the sanctions imposed by the US authorities and continue to transfer oil and other petrochemical supplies to the island. The El Palito refinery, despite not being able to produce gasoline due to the inoperation of its catalytic cracking plant, has managed to obtain Jet A-1, a heavier derivative. It does not require as much heating in the reactor or a large amount of additives. Also, since May 21, the crude oil tanker 'Petion' has been anchored at the dock of that Carabobo refinery, which would be loaded with fuel oil to be shipped to the Venezuela. This tanker has also been sanctioned by the US. The company Caroil Transport Marine LTD, owner and operator of both vessels, was sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury Department in 2019 for transporting oil and other petroleum products from Venezuela to Cuba, in transactions involving the also sanctioned state companies PDVSA and Cubametales. Caroil Transport Marine LTD is a company under the control of Guillermo Faustino Rodríguez López-Callejas, brother of Brigadier General Luis Alberto Rodríguez López-Callejas, the powerful former son of Raúl Castro who heads the Cuban military business conglomerate (GAESA).