(SeaPRwire) –   The U.S. government has permitted a Russian oil tanker to reach Cuba, thereby easing a blockade that has contributed to an energy crisis on the island, according to a report.

The Russian-flagged tanker, identified as the Anatoly Kolodkin, was en route to Cuba on Sunday, carrying approximately 730,000 barrels of oil, The New York Times reported, citing a U.S. official familiar with the matter.

Ship tracking data indicated that the tanker Anatoly Kolodkin was positioned near the eastern tip of Cuba on Sunday.

“We have a tanker out there. We don’t mind having somebody get a boatload, because they need … they have to survive,” President Donald Trump stated to reporters on Sunday when questioned about the report.

“If a country wants to send some oil into Cuba right now, I have no problem whether it’s Russia or not,” he added.

Previously, Trump had aimed to restrict oil shipments to Cuba as a means of pressuring its government.

The U.S. government has temporarily relaxed certain sanctions on Russian oil shipments to help stabilize global energy markets, following disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran that commenced last month.

According to tracking services MarineTraffic and LSEG, the Anatoly Kolodkin, which departed from Primorsk, Russia, could soon dock at Cuba’s Matanzas port if it maintains its current course.

The oil shipment is expected to provide substantial relief to Cuba, where President Miguel Díaz-Canel has reported ongoing fuel shortages for months, leading to strict gasoline rationing and exacerbating the island’s energy crisis.

The U.S. apprehension of then-Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in January removed a key Cuban ally that had been supplying oil to the island under favorable terms.

The Trump administration subsequently halted all Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba and pledged to impose punitive tariffs on any third country that supplied shipments to the island, which prompted Mexico to cease its exports to Cuba.

Another vessel, the Hong Kong-flagged Sea Horse, was also transporting around 200,000 barrels of Russian fuel to Cuba but was rerouted to Venezuela.