The first Russian diesel cargo bound for the United States under a deal between Moscow and US President Donald Trump was loaded on the Malta-flagged tanker Agioi Fanendes at Primorsk on October 22. Ship-tracking data reported on October 23 shows the vessel is expected to arrive in the US on November 7. The cargo is 40,000 metric tons of ultra-low sulphur diesel. A Kremlin spokesperson confirmed that a first ship under the deal had departed, without naming its destination.
Terms of the deal
Trump announced the arrangement on October 9 as part of efforts to bring down soaring diesel prices before the November 3 US mid-term elections. Under the announcement, 300,000 metric tons of Russian diesel, equal to 2.25 million barrels, were to be exported immediately to the US and global markets. Russia would follow with 500,000 metric tons in November and then 1 million metric tons immediately afterwards. The deal involved Russia lifting a self-imposed ban on diesel exports.
The European Union imposed a full embargo on Russian oil product imports in February 2023. Since then Russia has sent most of its diesel exports to Turkey, Brazil and African countries. The identities of the buyer and seller were not immediately known.
Payment and export levels
Kirill Dmitriev said last week that the US Treasury had asked Russia’s sovereign wealth fund to help resolve payment issues. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said further shipments would continue at a steady pace. Alexander Novak said Russia would return its diesel exports to usual levels of 3 to 3.5 million tons per month by the end of the year.
The cargo would be the first imported by the US since Biden’s 2022 ban on US imports of Russian oil and petroleum products.
