SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS-REGISTERED VESSEL SEIZED BY U. S. COAST GUARD WHEN ATTEMPTING TO SMUGGLE OIL INTO CUBA

The JAIRA PROVIDER, registered in SAINT KITTS & NEVIS, was intercepted in the Caribbean by the United States Coast Guard, carrying 210,000 gallons of illicit oil, bound for a power plant in Mariel, Cuba, in violation of the de facto American oil embargo on all petroleum shipments to that country. The United States recently announced the seizure, which took place over the Summer, this week, in connection with yet another vessel seizure of a ship attempting to smuggle oil into Cuba. The Jaira Provider, whose crew hid the oil in ballast tanks, which represent an environmental danger, due to likely leaks, was reportedly loaded in the Republic of Panama. We have no information regarding whether any Kittitians or Nevsians were on board.

We know the vessel, an offshore tug/safety & supply ship, had successfully completed a prior illicit oil delivery to Cuba. The Jaira Provider, previously registered in Tanzania,is not the first oil smuggling vessel that we have reported on in recent years, flagged in the CBI states of the Eastern Caribbean. Readers may recall our reports on illicit oil shipments to NORTH KOREA, using vessels registered in ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA and in DOMINICA. Also, shipments of sanctioned Iranian oil have been transported on tankers registered in the Eastern Caribbean.