Refined Products, Crude Oil, Chemicals, Gasoline, Diesel-Gasoil, Aromatics
August 21, 2026
Russia set for fifth seaborne gasoline cargo, first from Turkey
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HIGHLIGHTS
Wendrix tanker brings 200,000 barrels cargo from Turkey
Russia imports exceed 1 million barrels total
Ukraine strikes cut crude runs 28% in July
Russia is set to receive its fifth confirmed seaborne gasoline delivery since late July and its first from Turkey, as the country's fuel shortages deepen.
The Medium Range tanker Wendrix, which loaded at the Turkish port of Mersin, is due to arrive in Russia next week, S&P Global Commodities at Sea data showed.
The exact discharge port is unclear, but the vessel was tracked sailing through the Baltic Sea off Latvia as of the late afternoon of Aug. 21, CAS data showed.
Russia operates four Baltic Sea ports — St. Petersburg, Vysotsk, Primorsk and Kaliningrad — and the vessel had already passed Kaliningrad, according to the tracking data.
Mersin port is included on Ukraine's sanctions list over suspected links to Russia, according to Ukrainian media outlet Enkorr.
The Wendrix vessel, previously known as Jasper, is under EU, UK, Ukraine and Switzerland sanctions.
| Russian seaborn gasoline imports | ||||
| Vessel | Load Country | Origin | Volumes (barrels) | Discharge port |
| Garnet | Egypt | India | 356,000 | Vitino |
| Sino Faith | Morocco | Unknown | 300,000 | Arctic Russia |
| Beast | Egypt | India | 325,000 | Arctic Russia |
| Talisman | Egypt | India | 325,000 | Arctic Russia |
| Wendrix | Turkey | Unknown | 200,000 | Russia |
The Wendrix shipment would mark the first identified seaborne gasoline delivery to Russia arriving from Turkey, adding a new supply route to a list that has so far been dominated by cargoes moved through transshipment hubs near Egypt.
The Turkish energy ministry was not immediately available for comment.
Russia received three vessels loaded at India's Vadinar terminal via ship-to-ship transfers near Egypt over the past month, CAS and Kpler ship-tracking data showed.
A separate cargo arrived from Morocco at the end of July, though the exact origin of the gasoline loaded onto that vessel remains unclear. The only Moroccan refinery was shut in 2015.
Overall Russian seaborne imports exceeded 1 million barrels since end-July, ship-tracking data showed.
Nayara Energy, which owns the Vadinar refinery, did not respond to a request for comment from Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.
Russia's US-sanctioned Rosneft holds a 49.13% stake in Nayara Energy, which came under EU sanctions in 2025 over its ties to Moscow.
Second phase
Russia, historically one of the world's largest motor fuel exporters, began importing seaborn gasoline in July as Ukraine intensified strikes on the country's energy infrastructure. Russian crude runs averaged 3.7 million b/d in July, down 28% from the 2025 average, according to estimates from S&P Global Energy CERA analysts.
To manage the shortfall, Moscow has banned gasoline exports until the end of Jan. 2027. Diesel export restrictions are in place until the end of Aug. but there is a possibility of their extension, CERA analysts said.
Russian refineries have been struck 17 times so far in August, matching the total number of attacks recorded in July.
"A second phase of market tension is indeed currently unfolding," Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Aug. 19, commenting on fresh signs of motor fuel shortages spreading across the country.
Russia is also considering a ban on exports of aromatics, Russian media reported, citing limited production of the chemicals due to unplanned refinery repairs and their heavy use as gasoline blending components as reasons for the potential move.
Regional authorities said Aug. 13 that repairs at the Orsk refinery in Orenburg Oblast are expected to take up to six months.
