Tanker carries first Russian diesel shipment to US under Trump agreement

New York, United States. A tanker heading for New York is carrying the first Russian diesel shipment destined for the United States under an unexpected agreement between Moscow and US President Donald Trump, according to ship-tracking data available on Friday.

Shipment loaded at Primorsk

LSEG shipping data showed that Agioi Fanendes, a medium-sized tanker registered in Malta, took on 40,000 metric tons of ultra-low sulphur diesel at Primorsk, Russia’s Baltic port, on October 22. Its expected arrival date in the United States is November 7.

Neither the buyer nor the seller was immediately identified. The shipment would mark the first US import of Russian diesel since former President Joe Biden announced restrictions barring Russian oil and petroleum products from the country in 2022.

Agreement sets out further deliveries

Trump announced the agreement this month, on October 9, as he sought to reduce surging diesel prices before the US midterm elections scheduled for November 3.

Under the arrangement he announced, Russia would immediately supply 300,000 metric tons, equivalent to 2.25 million barrels, to US and global markets. Another 500,000 tons would follow in November, with 1 million tons to be supplied immediately after that.

Trump also waived provisions of a new American sanctions law targeting Russia. He threatened to prohibit US diesel exports to Europe unless countries drew more fuel from emergency stockpiles to help lower prices.

The agreement required Russia to remove its own prohibition on diesel exports.

Kremlin confirms first departure

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed during Friday’s daily conference call that an initial vessel operating under the agreement had departed. He did not identify whether its destination was the United States or another market.

Peskov said that, to his knowledge, the Ministry of Energy had already reported that the first tanker was sailing to its recipients and buyers. He added that subsequent deliveries would proceed steadily.

Russia has principally supplied diesel to Turkey and Brazil, alongside African countries, since the EU introduced a complete embargo on Russian petroleum-product imports in February 2023 because of the war in Ukraine.