Three Cuban ships roam the Caribbean in a failed attempt to secure LPG, the gas used for cooking on the Island
14ymedio, Madrid, February 16, 2026 – The vessel Gas Exelero, dedicated to transporting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Cuba and sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, is heading toward Jamaica after having been in Willemstad, Curaçao on Sunday. Its current draft, 4.2 meters, indicates that the tanker was unable to load LPG on the Dutch island and will attempt to obtain it in Kingston, where the Eugenia Gas failed on Saturday, according to University of Texas specialist Jorge Piñón.
The attempt cost the country some of its already scarce fuel reserves, the expert told this newspaper on Saturday, when the ship was returning to Santiago de Cuba after failing to approach the Petrojam refinery in the Jamaican capital. It was the second failure of the Cuban fleet in half a month, after the Emilia, sailing under the Cuban flag, was unable to acquire LPG in Kingston at the end of January.
Jamaica has been a regular supplier of the cooking gas used in Cuba, but that day an order signed by Donald Trump had just taken effect, threatening tariffs on any country delivering fuel to the Island. VesselFinder records indicated at the time that the Emilia left the Island with the same draft with which it returned.
Bloomberg published an analysis based on satellite images of the levels of light emitted by the Island, determining that the drop reaches 50% in cities such as Santiago de Cuba and Holguín
Fuel restrictions have worsened a situation that had already shown extreme fragility over the past two years. This weekend, the financial outlet Bloomberg published an analysis based on satellite images measuring the levels of light emitted by the Island, concluding that brightness has fallen by as much as 50% in cities such as Santiago de Cuba and Holguín compared to historical averages. In rural areas, the situation is even worse, while Havana still showed a significant advantage at the time of the study, with the exception of the neighborhoods of Cojímar and Alamar, which were noticeably darker than the rest.
On Sunday, Cuba’s Electric Union reported peak-hour demand of 3,009 megawatts (MW) compared to a generation capacity of just 1,427 MW. The day was also marked by an incident that sparked laughter amid the dramatic situation.
Unit 1 of the Ernesto Guevara thermoelectric plant went offline due to a breakdown before noon, came back online around 3 p.m., and disconnected again just an hour later. At 5:28 p.m., it was reconnected once more, prompting irony from exhausted customers. “Now I can’t remember whether I was coming in or going out,” one said. “Like a Christmas tree: ‘on for a while, off for a while,’” joked another. “So it went out twice and came back twice. The joke tells itself. Thanks, SEN (National Electric System), because despite the criminal blackouts, you make us laugh every day,” commented one user.
Those sanctioned for failing to comply with the Government’s energy-saving plans are likely in less of a laughing mood. The official media outlet in the province of Las Tunas announced specific measures this weekend aimed at curbing energy consumption, a constant concern across most of the Island depending on local conditions and capacities.
“Like a Christmas tree: ‘on for a while, off for a while,’” joked another.
Among the measures announced by Maritza González Llorente, director of the National Office for the Rational Use of Energy in Las Tunas, is the “only punitive measure” to be applied to companies—both state-run and private—that fail to meet their assigned consumption plans: cutting off their electricity supply.
“Everyone who failed to comply with the January consumption plan is having their service cut off. This measure is notified 48 hours in advance. It is then applied for a minimum of 72 hours, and the maximum duration extends until the debtor recovers the excess consumption,” the official explained.
Disconnection will also be applied to businesses located on “non-blackout” circuits, which required identifying those benefiting from their proximity to hospitals or other vital services. “We will increase control actions on each of these non-blackout circuits, and we will check on weekends, from Friday to Monday, whether the switches are open, in order to report any irregularities,” the official warned.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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