[7] The reason of delays was related to a number of orders which were carried out simultaneously at the Yantai Raffles shipyard.

[7] The main part of Keppel's work involved the completion and commissioning of marine and drilling systems on board.

It is compliant with the United States embargo against Cuba, which limits the amount of American technology that can be used in equipment used there, as less than 10% of its parts are American-made.

[16][17][18] The news agency Reuters has reported that only the blowout preventer of Scarabeo 9 is manufactured in the United States.

[3][16] This is one of the most critical devices for well control during the offshore drilling as malfunctioning of the blowout preventer was one of the reasons of the Deepwater Horizon explosion.

[3] However, due to the United States embargo, the original equipment manufacturer is not allowed to provide spare parts or repair items for the blowout preventer.

[18][19] On its way to Cuba, in Trinidad it was inspected by the United States Coast Guard and Interior Department (Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement).

[20] According to the statement by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the vessel is generally compliant with existing international and U.S.

[19] After drilling for Repsol, Scarabeo 9 was contracted to drill for Petronas and Gazprom Neft on the Catoche field off the north coast of Pinar del Río Province, and for Petróleos de Venezuela on the Cabo de San Antonio prospect off the west coast of Cuba.