Cuba fuel “crisis”

[Neal]

I was talking to a Cuba fishing outfitter on Friday about organizing  transportation between Havana and other parts of Cuba. She told me that there is a major fuel shortage due to the Venezuela embargo and that buses, trains, planes and cars are in all but a standstill with many gas stations out of fuel and those with fuel have extremely long lines-hours long. I went on line and found a number of confirming news stories.

has anyone been to Cuba lately who can comment? 

[garagedragon]

I just returned from Havana last Tuesday the 10th, and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. It could have just started.

[garagedragon]

I just spoke to my friend, Arturo, who lives in Havana, and he said things are crazy there. No fuel, plus blackouts at night. The president said there should be some relief in a few weeks.

[Neal]

Thanks garagedragon. Sounds dicey for travel

[Monterey]

Someone on another forum posted a short video while he was down there of a 4 hour wait to fill up their tank.  He shot the whole lineup of cars, it was quite a site.  I heard somewhere that this extreme shortage will only be short lived.  Things will slightly improve in a few weeks.

[Derboesekoenig]

Guess I picked the worst time to go. Will be heading there tomorrow...

[Santiago]

On 9/22/2019 at 11:47 PM, Derboesekoenig said:

Guess I picked the worst time to go. Will be heading there tomorrow...

How's the situation on the ground?

[puromaniac]

My friend in Vedado said things were coming back to normal--whatever that is in Cuba.

[Derboesekoenig]

23 hours ago, Santiago said:

How's the situation on the ground?

It was bad, but not as bad as people not from there described...

Meaning, apparently there are always shortages like that. Commonplace in Cuba and not sure why it was blown out of proportion this time

[Capt. Corona]

1 hour ago, Derboesekoenig said:

It was bad, but not as bad as people not from there described...

Meaning, apparently there are always shortages like that. Commonplace in Cuba and not sure why it was blown out of proportion this time

I call it news stream drama....It's hyped up here in the states to make people believe stuff that isn't really true.

I can't imagine any news media outlet wanting to get ratings tho ?

[bugman78629]

Aug 2019..... Waiting to be refilled ?

 

 

[MD Puffer]

17 minutes ago, bugman78629 said:

Aug 2019..... Waiting to be refilled ?

 

 

Is that a Trabant? 

[argrovesjd]

I was talking to a Cuba fishing outfitter on Friday about organizing  transportation between Havana and other parts of Cuba. She told me that there is a major fuel shortage due to the Venezuela embargo and that buses, trains, planes and cars are in all but a standstill with many gas stations out of fuel and those with fuel have extremely long lines-hours long. I went on line and found a number of confirming news stories.
has anyone been to Cuba lately who can comment? 

There have been widespread fuel shortages, especially in the areas outside of Havana. It’s only going to get worse if October’s crude & fuel shipments remain at port in Venezuela. Right now, two PdV tankers with a combined 700,000 bl of gasoline have been cleared out of Amuay and are expected to set sail anytime now. That’s only a portion of Cuba’s October allotment of 3mn bl that’s expected to be delivered in the month.


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[...]

I’m curious about any update on the subject. Any visitor with recent experience in Cuba, taking the bus or taxis for long distances (Havana-Varadero or Hav-Trinidade)?

[argrovesjd]

October’s fuel allotment has been delivered. I was there last week, and things were getting close to “normal” for Cuba. Things should be good for the next three weeks or so (because of the 500th celebration) but after that....?????

[JohnnyO]

I was there 11/1 and on 5ta Avenida gas stations had lines with or without fuel. Many were just shut down. If you want fuel you have to wait a while, probably an all day affair. John

[...]

12 hours ago, JohnnyO said:

I was there 11/1 and on 5ta Avenida gas stations had lines with or without fuel. Many were just shut down. If you want fuel you have to wait a while, probably an all day affair. John

Hi John, how difficult is it to move around the island using taxis at the moment?

[JohnnyO]

That is not a problem inside the city, its just pricier now. Get 10-15 miles out, might not be so good. If you are at points of interest, Marina Hemingway, Capitol (Partagas factory) building there will always be taxis around. The official taxi rate from the airport into the city is 30 CUC for the 1st 50 kilometers. The drivers are so desperate that they might do it for 20 CUC if it means them jumping the line. Older cars that move the Cubans in the city used to be 10 Cuban pesos (40 cents) for the route from lets say El Laguito to the Capitol building. That's about a 8-10 mile ride. Now some are asking $5, more at night. The locals cant pay that easily but for most of us its not a big deal. Cars will be more willing to stop for you knowing that you will likely pay more. There is also a double decker bus that goes from Marina Hemingway, several points of interest in Havana and on to Playas del Este (Havana's eastern beaches). For one price you can get on/off all day. That is probably over $10 CUC by now but worth it. There is also an issue with the USD/CUC now. Many exchange houses have been closed as there are better rates on parallel markets. John

[JohnnyO]

On 10/30/2019 at 6:14 PM, Jeanff said:

I’m curious about any update on the subject. Any visitor with recent experience in Cuba, taking the bus or taxis for long distances (Havana-Varadero or Hav-Trinidade)?

As long as you use the buses for tourists "Via Azul" (by the Zoo in Vedado) you will not have a problem getting out. Getting on with short notice is another issue. Many Taxis wont go to Varadero as there are inspections at about the halfway point on the other side of the "El Mirador" bridge and most just don't want the hassle. John

[Ethernut]

Was there last week and over the weekend. There was no gas in stations east of Havana during the week. Stations that had a little gas would fill up motorcycles but not cars. My driver was nearly on E and said he'd be sparing with it and wait until the weekend. Sure enough, Saturday he had no issues. Some stations had an overnight line as people were waiting for delivery. He said the government vehicles come first and most of the them aren't running on the weekend. By the cars running about, you wouldn't know there was a fuel crisis. Plenty of cabs at the airport.

[...]

Thank you John & Ethernut for the info. Cheers!

[Monterey]

Watched an oil tanker navigate into port 3 days ago.  Hopefully that helps.

[Bossman]

I was there a little over a month ago. Fuel really wasn’t a problem but there was shortage of local beers (bucanero and cristal) where I stayed at matanzas. Havana didn’t have any sort of shortage cause it’s a tourist area.


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