Russian diesel tanker heads to New York as Kremlin claims regular shipments

The Malta-flagged medium-sized tanker Agioi Fanendes is heading to New York carrying Russian diesel, according to S&P Global Energy Commodities at Sea data, with the Kremlin expecting deliveries to continue "on a regular basis."

The Kremlin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Oct. 23 that the first tanker carrying Russian diesel was sent to the US.

"The first tanker has, in fact, set off toward its destinations — to its buyers — and [subsequent shipments] will continue on a regular basis," Peskov told journalists, according to TASS. He did not clarify the name of the vessel sent to the US or who the buyers of the delivery are.

The Agioi Fanendes tanker left Russia's port of Primorsk on Oct. 22 and is expected to reach New York around Nov. 6-7, according to CAS data. It is unclear who the buyer and the seller of the vessel might be.

The first diesel tanker from Russia to the US since 2022 is expected to carry about 40,000 metric tons, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Oct. 21.

Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, which manages the Agioi Fanendes, according to its website, could not be reached for comment Oct. 23.

While the vessel remains in the Baltic Sea, it can still divert its destination.

Market reaction

The delivery of these diesel volumes to the US "would only be a displacement of volume from Brazil," according to a European diesel trader who asked for anonymity as not authorized to speak publicly. "It is a logistical change regarding where the product goes, rather than an increase in flows. We would have to see vastly more flows for it to [affect] the European market."

Shipping market participants were also seeing signs of additional Russian-loading opportunities. A Greece-based broker said UAN and clean petroleum product stems were emerging, with New York, Houston and Canada's Come By Chance among potential destinations, although fixtures had yet to be confirmed.

The emergence of further Russian-loading stems could also have implications for the European MR tanker market. Shipping sources said additional Russian business could draw vessels away from conventional European employment, while a larger pool of owners willing to lift Russian cargoes could put downward pressure on freight rates for Russian-loading voyages.

Russia was the second-largest diesel exporter globally before a major fuel crisis began in the country this summer, triggered by Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries. Turkey, Brazil and Egypt were the main buyers of Russian flows in the past years after the EU banned Russian fuel products in response to the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control granted on Oct. 9 a sanctions waiver to Russia allowing the sale, delivery and import of Russian-origin diesel fuel, including into the US. In response, the Russian government has partially lifted its full diesel export ban introduced in July.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been under pressure from US President Donald Trump to stop attacks on Russian refineries. The last time Ukraine struck a Russian refinery was on Oct. 15, marking a slowdown in Ukraine's campaign targeting Russian energy infrastructure.

It remains unclear how much additional diesel Russia can export to global markets in the coming months.

Novak said Oct. 9 that Russia is ready to export 300,000 mt of diesel in October, 500,000 mt in November and 1 million mt in December. He later said that Russian diesel deliveries can reach up to 3.5 million mt/month by the end of 2026, without clarifying the discrepancy between the figures.

Zelenskyy said Oct. 15 that US military officials told their counterparts that if Ukraine did not stop the energy strikes, the US would block intelligence sharing with Ukraine. But Ukraine is only ready to stop its attacks on Russian refineries if Russia stops striking its energy infrastructure and killing Ukrainians, Zelenskyy said.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the European diesel benchmark ULSD 10 ppm CIF NWE Cargo price at $1,479 /mt on Oct. 22, up from $1,470.5/mt on Oct. 22, but still well below a peak of $1,642.25/mt on Sept. In contrast, the price averaged $714.72/mt in February before the Iran war triggered a major energy crisis.