Cuba on edge as US seizure of oil tanker puts supply at risk |
By Dave Sherwood and Marianna Parraga
HAVANA/HOUSTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - A U.S. move this week to seize an oil tanker out of Venezuela is poised to make a bad situation worse for a crisis-stricken Cuba already struggling to source enough oil to power its ailing economy and electrical grid.
The Communist-run nation, a nearby neighbor and long-time foe of the United States, suffers daily, hours-long rolling blackouts that have decimated productivity and tested the patience of its exhausted residents.
Cuba depends on Venezuela's crude and refined products - transported to the island by small vessels and a shadow fleet of sanctioned tankers - for a large portion of its consumption, according to shipping data and analysts.
That supply chain could be severely curtailed if the single tanker seizure this week turns into a pattern of interceptions, coupled with more sanctions.
Washington, which on Thursday imposed fresh sanctions on six Venezuela-related vessels, in........