A stop in the Caribbean Sea

The Grace was halted on 5 September in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Mexico while it used tactics to evade authorities. The ship measured 91 metres (300ft), according to the New York Times. In its statement, the Coast Guard said the Grace was carrying fuel to Cuba and was believed to be using tactics common among the dark fleet.

What inspectors found aboard

Coast Guard personnel boarded the vessel and escorted it to Mexico.

• •Once there, a Mexican navy inspection team confirmed large quantities of fuel in the Grace's ballast tanks.
• •The statement said the Grace was also carrying several containers believed to contain illicit fuel.

Coast Guard commandant's warning

Adm Kevin Lunday, the commandant of the Coast Guard, said in the statement that dark fleet actors using deceptive tactics to carry out illicit activities would not evade justice.

Embargo strain on Cuba

The interception came with the US oil embargo against the island still in force. The Trump administration has said openly that it aims to change Cuba's government. An oil blockade imposed by the US earlier this year has left the country under severe strain.

• •Cuba is contending with fuel shortages and blackouts, which failing infrastructure makes worse.
• •Oil shipments from Venezuela and Mexico, Cuba's traditional suppliers, stopped abruptly after the US ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in January.
• •US Coast Guard cutters patrol the waters off Cuba, while sanctions and threats have deterred tankers from setting sail at all.

The statement left open how authorities knew the fuel was bound for Cuba, and it did not say how much fuel the Grace was carrying.