A tanker transporting 40,000 metric tons of Russian diesel is on its way to New York, according to maritime traffic monitoring data released on Friday. This shipment follows an agreement disclosed by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, as reported by Reuters.
In a surprising announcement, Trump revealed plans to import Russian diesel to help alleviate soaring diesel prices ahead of the upcoming Congressional elections scheduled for November 3.
Trump has also suspended certain provisions of a new U.S. law imposing sanctions on Russia and threatened Europe with a ban on U.S. diesel exports unless European nations release larger amounts from their emergency reserves to help lower prices.
The medium-sized tanker, “Agioi Fanendes,” flagged in Malta, was loaded on October 22 with low-sulfur diesel at the Russian port of Primorsk in the Baltic Sea. It is expected to arrive in the United States on November 7.
First Russian Petroleum Shipment to U.S. in Four Years
The identities of the selling and buying companies involved remain unclear. This shipment marks the first that the U.S. has imported since former President Joe Biden announced a ban on U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products from Russia in 2022.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has stated that additional shipments will follow as Russian and American companies negotiate contracts for these deliveries.
Kirill Dmitriev, a representative of President Putin who also leads Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, noted last week that the U.S. Treasury Department had requested assistance from the fund to resolve complex payment issues related to the agreement.
The agreement also included a stipulation for Russia to lift a ban on companies regarding diesel exports, a measure initially enacted to alleviate shortages caused by Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries.
Diesel Quantities Expected from Russia
On October 9, President Trump announced that Russia would immediately export 300,000 metric tons, equivalent to 2.25 million barrels, to the U.S. and international markets, with an additional 500,000 tons expected in November, and “soon after,” another million tons.
Novak indicated that by the end of the year, Russia could ramp up its diesel exports to normal levels of 3 to 3.5 million tons per month.
Other tankers loaded with oil for export were also reported to have departed from the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk last week; however, their final destinations remain unclear. Most tankers were indicating Gibraltar, the Atlantic coast, or Port Said as potential destinations, according to maritime transport data from LSEG.
Since the European Union imposed a complete ban on imports of Russian petroleum products in February 2023 due to the war in Ukraine, Russia has primarily exported diesel to Brazil, Turkey, and several African nations.
