Russian Diesel Heads to the U.S. for the First Time Following Agreement

Russian diesel is being exported to the United States for the first time following an agreement reached with U.S. President Donald Trump. A tanker carrying diesel from Russia is currently en route to New York. This information was reported by the British news agency Reuters on Friday (October 30), citing vessel-tracking data.

Trump announced the agreement with Russia this month as part of an effort to lower soaring diesel prices in the United States. He took this step to help control fuel costs ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, scheduled for November 3.

Under the terms of the agreement, Trump has also eased certain provisions of the new U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia. Simultaneously, he has pressured European nations to release additional oil from their emergency reserves to help drive down fuel prices, threatening to halt U.S. diesel exports to Europe if they fail to comply.

According to LSEG shipping data, the Malta-flagged medium-sized tanker 'Agioi Fanendes' departed from the Russian port of Primorsk—located on the Baltic Sea coast—on October 22, carrying 40,000 tons of ultra-low-sulfur diesel. The vessel is expected to arrive in the United States around November 7. However, the identities of the buyer and seller involved in this shipment are not yet known.

Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Limited (Eastmed), the company managing the tanker, stated that the vessel is currently awaiting further instructions while en route across the North Atlantic. The company did not, however, confirm that its destination is New York.

An official from Eastmed noted that the specific port or country for the diesel offloading has not yet been finalized.

This marks the first shipment of Russian fuel to the United States since then-U.S. President Joe Biden imposed a ban on the import of Russian oil and petroleum products in 2022.

On October 9, Trump announced that Russia would immediately export 300,000 tons—equivalent to 2.25 million barrels—of diesel to the United States and the international market. Following this, an additional 500,000 tonnes of diesel will be supplied in November, with another 1 million tonnes to follow shortly thereafter.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the first tanker under the agreement had departed from Russia. However, he did not clarify whether the vessel was headed to the United States or another country.

During a regular press briefing, Peskov stated that, according to the Ministry of Energy, the first tanker has already set sail to deliver its cargo to the buyers. Further shipments will now be dispatched on a regular basis.

Notably, as part of the agreement with the United States, Russia has also lifted its own self-imposed ban on diesel exports.

Source: The Dawn