Miguel Diaz-Canel, President of the Republic of Cuba (2019- ), is visiting the Republic of Turkiye from 21 November 2022 to 23 November 2022. He will meet in the capital, Ankara, on 22 November 2022 with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkiye. President Erdogan visited the Republic of Cuba from 10 February 2015 to 11 February 2015.

The primary goals for the visit to Turkiye are to obtain debt relief, financial assistance, export opportunities, and import opportunities (meaning extended payment terms) and support by the government and private sectors in Turkiye to mitigate the impact of United States sanctions upon the Republic of Cuba. However, the public and private sector in Turkiye each have financial constraints that will prevent providing all that President Diaz-Canel is seeking. Challenging too will be a record of previous debt (sovereign and commercial) restructuring agreements by the government of the Republic of Cuba with public sectors and private sectors in many countries have gone resulted in only further restructuring as obligations have not been met.

The message from President Diaz-Canel in Ankara will be the same as his message in Algiers, Moscow, and Beijing: Obtain commercial, economic, and political assistance so the government of the Republic of Cuba may remain the anachronism it is rather than embracing changes which would enhance its ability to earn foreign exchange- as have the governments in Algiers, Moscow, Beijing… and Ankara. The President of Algeria obliged. President Diaz-Canel’s four-country tour does not have a foundation of strength- it reflects weakness.

The Republic of Cuba currently produces between 2,000 MW and 2,500 NW, but should generate more than 3,000 MW to provide for current demand which remains far below desired optimum electric power generation for a country of 11.2 million. Reasons for the lack of electrical power generation include aging infrastructure and type of infrastructure.

How is the Diaz-Canel-Valdes Mesa Administration in Havana narrowing the current distance between supply and demand? By multi-year contracts with Istanbul, Turkiye-based Karpowership which is a member of the Istanbul, Turkiye-based Karadeniz Energy Group which is a subsidiary of Istanbul, Turkiye-based Karadeniz Holding.

How is the Diaz-Canel-Valdes Mesa Administration in Havana paying Karpowership? Unlikely on a normal commercial basis as the government of the Republic of Cuba is chronically absent of foreign exchange. And since January 2020, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon tourism revenues, changes to export and import prices, increase in commercial shipping rates; and since 24 February 2022 the impact of the invasion of Ukraine and further invasion of Ukraine by the armed forces of the Russian Federation on energy prices, tourism (impact upon airline travel from the Russian Federation to the Republic of Cuba due to sanctions against the Russian Federation); and since 1961 the commercial, economic, and political impact of sanctions (statutory, regulatory, and policy) imposed by the United States government upon the Republic of Cuba. Hence, the visit by President Diaz-Canel to Turkiye.

From Karpowership (which reported providing 10% of electrical power generation in the Republic of Cuba, but currently provides approximately 20%):

“In October 2018, Karpowership signed a contract with La Empresa importadora y exportadora de objetivos electroenergéticos (Energoimport), the state electricity company of Cuba, to deploy three Powerships of 110 MW in total for a period of 51 months. Karadeniz Powership Barış Bey and Karadeniz Powership Esra Sultan started operation in Port de Mariel in June 2019 and Karadeniz Powership Ela Sultan started operations in November 2019. In November 2019, the contract capacity was increased to 144 MW. In November 2021, a new Addendum Agreement was signed to increase the capacity to 300 MW and extend the contract term 18 years. Karpowership currently has 6 Powerships with an installed capacity of 420 MW in the country. Cuba is Karpowership’s first project in Western Hemisphere.”

“Karpowership is a pioneer in innovative energy projects for the last 25 years, with investments in domestic and international markets. The group started its energy investments in 1996, and today owns and operates 6,000 MW installed capacity globally. Karpowership is the owner, operator and builder of the only Powership™ (floating power plant) fleet in the world and plays an active role in medium to long-term investments; providing access to fast-track, affordable and reliable electricity. Currently, Karpowership owns and operates 33 Powerships with an installed capacity of 6,000 MW and an active construction pipeline.”

”Powerships have a range starting from 30 MW up to 470 MW and they are delivered ready to operate in less than 60 days. Starting from the design, and ending with delivery of electricity, Karpowership fully executes all activities in-house including construction, site preparation, commissioning, and fuel supply. Powerships are designed, constructed and engineered to be deployed to various corners of the world on a short, medium and long-term basis, adding base load, mid-merit or peak shaving electricity generation capacity to the host country’s grid.”

“The Powership solution has brought a new aspect to the power business by utilizing proven technology in fully integrated, ready to deliver, mobile floating power plants. Powerships provide highest efficiency, reliable and economical power supply with fast-track delivery under various commercial structures. Unlike other fast-track power solution providers, Karpowership offers not only the speed of delivery, but also high efficiency and competitive prices. With more than 2,600 employees globally; Karpowership is operational in four continents across the world.”

Thomson Reuters
London, United Kingdom
16 November 2022
Turkish Karpowership’s 7th floating power ship to help enlighten Cuba

Cuba welcomed on Tuesday a seventh floating power plant to its growing fleet of shipboard generators as the country seeks to bolster its grid and bring relief to citizens who for months have suffered daily, hourslong blackouts. The powership, leased from Karpowership of Türkiye-based conglomerate Karadeniz Holding, is expected to feed an additional 110 megawatts of electricity into Cuba's grid by month's end, officials said, or about one-tenth the average daily generation shortfall. The seven floating power plants, which will generate a total of 400 megawatts, represent one part of a strategy announced earlier this year to stem a growing energy crisis. The government has said it also aims to purchase small diesel-fired, land-based generators to supplement the grid, and has announced plans to service its larger, though obsolete, Soviet-era fuel-fired power plants. Cuba's energy woes are perhaps the most painful symptom of a deeper financial crisis caused by external factors such as U.S. sanctions, the COVID-19 pandemic and poor economic management. The modern powerships provide quick relief. They carry their own generators fueled by oil or gas, anchor close to land and connect with dedicated transmission lines to the local electricity grid. They are typically leased by a host country. Cuban oil-fired power plants are, by comparison, aged and inefficient, averaging 35 years of age, with a backup system of hundreds of smaller generators at least 15 years old. Just 5% of Cuba's power currently comes from alternative energy sources.

AmaBhungane
South Africa
12 July 2021
Powerships: Inside the Karadeniz money-spinning global empire

The powership conglomerate earns an astonishing amount from its specialist offering to frail and broken states. But many of its deals around the world have been criticised as exploitative and irrational. South Africa may become the biggest prize of all. And we have already helped fund the growth of this corporate empire. Karadeniz Holdings, the company that hopes to moor powerships in three local ports, commands a rapidly expanding fleet of these seaborne power plants, raking in over $1-billion per year around the world. Most of this was built in the past five years alone, bearing testimony to the group’s aggressive strategy of courting governments that are, as chief executive Orhan Karadeniz once told an American diplomat, “desperate” for electricity. https://amabhungane.org/stories/210712_powerships-inside-the-karadeniz-money-spinning-global-empire/

From Jorge Pinon, Senior Research Fellow- The University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute: It seems that is the support vessel to the powership that they are sending back to Cuba, not the Karpowership itself. As the table below my note shows there are only six, not counting the support vessel KARADENIZ ONE.

The 8.7 DWT, Liberian flag KPS IREM SULTAN powership left Turkey on 10/03 and is scheduled to arrive in La Habana on 11/13, after a brief stop in Las Palmas on 10/19. She is reported to be moored at the Caribbean Drydock Company facilities located on Punta de Colorados (Casablanca, Regla).
The 2.7 DWT, Liberian flag tug/supply ship KARADENIZ ONE arrived in La Habana on 10/25, left Rio de Janeiro on 10/07, to support the arrival of the IREM SULTAN.
The IREM SULTAN will join the BELGIN SULTAN and the ERIN SULTAN which are already moored on the Ensenada de Atares, near UNE’s Tallapiedra thermoelectric power plant.
The KPS BARIS BAY, KPS ESRA SULTAN and KPS ELA SULTAN are moored in Mariel.

The Karpowerships “installed rated” capacity is different from the “contracted” capacity. These six Karpowerships run on high sulphur fuel oil HSFO so there will be more cabotage traffic between Matanzas and La Habana to supply these Karpowerships as today with the cabotage tanker CARIBBEAN ALLIANCE which is on a regularly scheduled run between MTZ and Mariel. Is there a pipeline connection between the Regla refinery tank farm and Casablanca? The fuel supply to these three La Habana based Karpowerships is going to be a challenge, though not the case in Mariel. If the new Karpowerships are to be moored at Casablanca as reported, does UNE have a grid connection as exists at Tallapiedra? So the contribution of the new arrivals to the grid (SEN) would not be immediate if they have to build a connection to the grid (SEN).

According to EIA the most recent construction cost for a 300MW combined cycle plant is approximately US$1,201.00 per kw* in 2021 U.S. Dollars. With likely increase in costs since 2021, a new plant would require approximately US$360 million; i.e. a new Guiteras. * Overnight capital cost includes contingency factors and excludes regional multipliers (except as noted for wind and solar PV) and learning effects. Interest charges are also excluded. The capital costs represent current costs for plants that would come online in 2022. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/assumptions/pdf/table_8.2.pdf

From one of the Cuban Blogs. Questioning the U.S. Dollar value provided and reliability of the information: In lieu of cash payment for the Karpowerships, a twenty-five year lease was granted to Karadeniz for the Havana harbor (Casablanca) Caribbean Drydock Company facility. LINKS: https://www.cdchavana.cu/en/home/ and En Cuba, nueva central flotante para la generación eléctrica (+ Fotos y Video) | Cubadebate

Why and how did Cuba’s complete electric power grid collapse when the hurricane just impacted the western end of the Island? “Cuba’s grid (SEN) is totally interconnected and interdependent on all eight thermoelectric power plants. That is why when Mariel is down it impacts Santiago de Cuba’s RENTE 926 kilometers away which has to, along with the others, pick up the deficit created. It is the perfect domino effect analogy in which you knock one domino over, impacting all others in a chain reaction. That is why the SEN is prone to a total system collapse as we saw yesterday.”

LINKS To Related Analyses

Turkey's Karpowership Delivering Fifth Electric Generation Vessel; More Than 15% Of Cuba's Current Electricity Usage. Company Won't Comment. Contracts Profitable. April 03, 2022

Turkey's Karpowership Adds Fourth Thermal Power Barge In Cuba. Company Generating More Than 10% Of Cuba's Electricity. Good For Turkish Companies. Reinforces Cuba's Energy Production Issues. November 25, 2021

Karpowership From Turkey Extends And Expands Floating Electricity Generation In Cuba; Joining Turkey's Global Ports Holding Which Manages Cruise Ship Terminal In Havana. November 19, 2021

Turkey's Karadeniz Holding May Add To “Karpowership” Fleet In Cuba. December 02, 2020

Karadeniz Holding Of Turkey Update On "Karpowership" Operations In Cuba. March 09, 2020

Karadeniz Of Turkey Delivering Floating Power Plant To Cuba For 51-Month Contract. April 23, 2019

Turkey's Karadeniz Holding Reports Electricity Contract With Cuba In October 2018; But, No Contract Signed Five Months Later. April 01, 2019