A Comoros-flagged containership carrying fuel towards Cuba was intercepted by the US Coast Guard in the Caribbean Sea, according to a Coast Guard statement.
A Coast Guard tactical team boarded Grace in early September following a coordinated international enforcement operation. The vessel was later escorted to Progreso, Mexico, where a Mexican Navy inspection found large quantities of fuel in its ballast tanks. Several containers on board were also believed to contain illicit fuel.
The Coast Guard said Grace was suspected of using tactics associated with the so-called dark fleet. “The high seas are not a sanctuary for lawlessness,” Coast Guard Commandant Adm Kevin Lunday said. “Dark fleet actors who employ deceptive tactics to engage in illicit activities will not evade justice. The Coast Guard is bringing every capability to bear to interdict these vessels and uphold international law.”
The operation involved cutters Alert and Charles Sexton, an HC-144 fixed-wing aircraft, Tactical Law Enforcement Team South and Southeast District watchstanders.
The Coast Guard did not disclose how much fuel Grace was carrying or what information established Cuba as the cargo’s destination.
Mexican authorities detained the 100.8-metre Comoros-flagged containership at Progreso in September over suspected breaches of international oil-pollution prevention and marine environmental protection rules. The vessel was Grace, IMO 9234422. Grace had departed Colón, Panama, before the interception. The 2001-built containership has deadweight capacity of about 3,820 tonnes and capacity for around 340 TEU.
The case follows the earlier boarding and detention of Jaira Provider, which the Coast Guard said was carrying about 210,000 gallons of fuel to Cuba. No equivalent cargo figure has been disclosed for Grace.
Latvia-based Arkon Capital Ltd is the registered owner and commercial manager of Grace.