The tugboat story gets shakier

I noted this news item April 11 based on a U.S. company’s statements to the media:

A Georgia company accuses Cuba of “denial of assistance” last December when its tug and barge, en route to Haiti with humanitarian cargo, had engine trouble and were dead in the water offshore of Moa. The barge ran aground and sank. AP story here.

The U.S. Coast Guard then said that contrary to the statements of the company (Harbor Homes of Georgia), it never asked permission to enter Cuban waters. Hence there was no Cuban denial of such a request.

The Cuban government has put out its version of events, written up here by AP and here by Prensa Latina.

Cuba’s transportation ministry says that the tug ran out of fuel, was ill equipped, and its maintenance certificates were expired; also that a Cuban vessel spent four days trying to recover the barges and their cargo, with partial success. It says U.S. authorities were kept informed during the incident.