As a first of an undisclosed number of vessels to come, a Shanghai shipyard delivered a bulk grains carrier to Cuban officials. The 35,000-ton Abdala was built under an agreement between Chinese state company China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation (CMC) and Cuba’s Empresa Importadora General del Transporte (EIGT) that will boost the tonnage of Cuba’s merchant marine.
The cost of the vessel and financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed. The purchases are financed by China’s Eximbank. Employees of Cuban state company Acemex supervised the construction of the ship.
The addition of the grain vessel will lower the cost of grain imports for Cuba; no Cuban ships are allowed to dock in U.S. ports.
Deputy Transport Minister Raúl Pérez led the Cuban delegation during the ceremony in Shanghai.
