Oil/Chemical Tanker LIA C

No, it's not a diving submarine or a ship in distress taking on water, big time.

It's just part of the daily sail past of a variety of ships speedily making their way along the busy Straits of Florida to destinations unknown while we banked rays along the shores of Playas del Este, Cuba. There were tankers, container ships, bulk and car carriers and what looked to be a 'factory' fishing trawler and almost every one passed by just a little too far to make out her name.

However with a little enhancing here and there, & checking other sites, I was able to identify the tanker below as the 577' LIA C. Built in 1985 in Japan and though she's registered and flies the flag of Panama, she's actually owned by Caroil Transport Marine of Havana, Cuba. Let me see, a Cuban company owning a ship to haul Venezuelan crude to the Havana oil refinery. Hmm, sounds like capitalism to me. I guess times have started to change for Cubans, or not.