Published Tuesday, 3 November, 9:35 a.m. ET (9:35 a.m. Havana, which is one hour ahead of New York) · Source: Cuba’s Ministry of Energy and Mines, Unión Eléctrica
Cuba has lost one of its last two Turkish power ships while much of the island sits in the dark. The Erol Bey, a floating power plant rated at 63 megawatts, left Havana’s port at about 2:30 p.m. Havana time on Monday, 2 November (1:30 p.m. Eastern Time, or ET), according to several reports.
The departure adds to the strain we track on our Cuba news hub. Our explainer on the Cuba blackout shows why the grid is so fragile.
Key Facts
- What happened: Cuba lost a 63-megawatt (MW) Turkish power ship, the Erol Bey, when it left Havana on 2 November.
- What is unclear: Havana has not said why it left, and the cause is still unconfirmed.
- Why it matters: Cuba has had at least eight total grid collapses this year, so every megawatt counts.
- What is next: Watch the Belgin Sultan, the last Turkish ship in Havana.
- Prediction markets: Polymarket, 9:23 a.m. ET, 3 Nov: US military action against Cuba by 31 Dec, 6.5%.
This story is part of our coverage of the cuba news. Dates, times and how to follow it are in our guide.
In plain English
A “patana”, as Cubans call it, is a ship with a power station on board that plugs into the shore grid. Cuba rents them from a Turkish company because its own old plants cannot keep the lights on.
A Ship Leaves, and the Lights Stay Off
The Erol Bey belongs to Karpowership, a Turkish floating-power company that has rented ships to Cuba since 2019. Reports say it left Cuba, but Cuban authorities have not confirmed the departure or given a reason.
One Turkish unit, the Belgin Sultan, is still in Havana. Outlets disagree on whether it generates power or serves mainly as a support vessel.
Installed capacity, the 63 megawatts quoted for the Erol Bey, is the most a plant can produce. It is not what it delivers when fuel runs short.
Why the Ships Keep Leaving
The fleet once numbered eight vessels. In September 2025 Cuba’s Energy and Mines Minister, Vicente de la O Levy, said the ships had left because Cuba could not pay.
A Cuban news outlet now blames unpaid bills to Karadeniz Holding, the Turkish group behind Karpowership, but that is its own claim and not an official statement.
Fuel is the other limit. One Cuban outlet reports that the Erol Bey had sat idle for months without it, so the real loss of electricity may be smaller than 63 megawatts.
A Grid That Keeps Collapsing
Cuba’s national grid has suffered at least eight total collapses in 2026. Reports from the island say some provinces have gone up to three days in a row without power. The Turkish fleet has shrunk from eight vessels at its peak to one in Havana, the Belgin Sultan, since 2019.
The government calls the situation critical and extremely tense. Cuba’s old thermal plants, mostly built in the 1960s and 1970s, still supply about 40% of its power.
What It Means for US Readers
The ship’s exit shows how thin Cuba’s power margin has become as Washington and Havana trade blows over energy. For Cuban-Americans with relatives on the island, longer outages mean more calls for money, food and generators.
For investors and shipping watchers, the clue to follow is whether the Belgin Sultan also leaves, which would end Turkish generation in Havana. A ninth total grid collapse, after at least eight this year, would show the margin has gone.
What Prediction Markets Say
On Polymarket, a platform where users trade on real-world outcomes, traders put the chance of US military action against Cuba by 31 December at 6.5% (US$7.7 million traded, 9:23 a.m. ET on 3 November). A separate market puts a US-Cuba economic deal by the same date at 11.5% (US$447,000 traded).
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
What Is Not Known
Neither the Unión Eléctrica (Cuba’s state power utility), the energy ministry nor Karpowership had commented in the reports we reviewed. The reason for the departure, the contract status and any debt owed are unconfirmed.
Nor do we know where the Erol Bey is going or how much power it actually produced recently. No source we reviewed ties the departure to US policy.
More: Cuba news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Erol Bey?
A Turkish floating power plant rated at 63 megawatts (MW). It is one of the ships Cuba has rented from Turkey’s Karpowership group, which began supplying the island in 2019.
Why did the Erol Bey leave Cuba?
Cuban authorities have not said. In September 2025 the energy minister said earlier ship departures were due to Cuba’s inability to pay.
Sources: Cuba’s Ministry of Energy and Mines (remarks by Minister Vicente de la O Levy, September 2025); Unión Eléctrica (unionelectrica.cu); Polymarket (US military action against Cuba, US-Cuba economic deal).
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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