Tanker Carrying Russian Diesel Abandons US-Bound Route as Trump-Putin Deal Stalls

A tanker loaded with Russian diesel that had been sailing towards New York reversed course roughly 400 nautical miles off the US East Coast, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, Nov. 10, adding to doubts over whether any fuel promised under the Moscow-Washington agreement will reach American ports. The Agioi Fanendes, which carries about 40,000 metric tons (44,092 US tons) of ultralow-sulfur diesel – nearly 300,000 barrels – began sailing away from the US coast on Monday, Nov. 9, and has been sailing back and forth in an irregular pattern ever since, according to ship-tracking data cited by the outlet.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Not a single cargo of Russian diesel has arrived in the US since US President Donald Trump struck a diesel arrangement with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Oct. 9, tracking data shows. At the time, Trump announced that Moscow had agreed to supply more than 300,000 metric tons (330,693 US tons) of diesel fuel to the US and global markets, with another 500,000 tons (551,156 US tons) to follow in November and 1 million metric tons (1.1 million US tons) thereafter. Destination remains unconfirmed According to Bloomberg, the Greek-managed vessel left Russia’s Baltic port of Primorsk in late October with New York listed as its destination. However, the ship later changed its signal to “for orders” – a shipping term indicating that the final port has not been decided yet. Its manager, Eastern Mediterranean Maritime, told the outlet that the unloading port had still not been confirmed, repeating the explanation given earlier. Other Topics of Interest Abu Dhabi Talks Cover Security Guarantees for Russia Ukraine says the war must stop before Europe’s security is reshaped, as Russia’s own demands enter the Abu Dhabi negotiations. The Agioi Fanendes was the last of the first three US-bound tankers still heading toward America. The other two, the Russian tanker Talisman and the Hong Kong-owned Leruo, had already turned away, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Nov. 5. A fourth vessel, the Seychelles-owned Beast, was signaling the Atlantic after loading diesel at Primorsk on Oct. 27. Moscow said last month that it had loaded four tankers with diesel bound for the US, while Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters at the time that three of the vessels were already en route. Refinery strikes stall supply It remains unclear whether Russia can actually deliver the volumes agreed with Washington as Ukrainian strikes continue to hit its oil refining industry. Six Russian refineries have been hit since the beginning of November, according to a Bloomberg count based on accounts from people familiar with the incidents. Together, they have a design capacity of about 1.7 million barrels per day. In late October, Novak said Russia planned to ship more than 2 million metric tons (2.2 million US tons) of diesel to global markets in November, while acknowledging that Ukrainian strikes could reduce the volumes available. According to a Reuters report on Tuesday, Nov. 10, Ukraine’s renewed campaign against Russian refineries has already cut the country’s oil processing capacity by roughly 30% since late October. Two sources familiar with the matter told the outlet that the plants hit, among them three major facilities in central Russia and refineries in Ryazan, Yaroslavl and the Volga region, have a combined capacity of around 300,000 metric tons (330,693 US tons) per day. That is close to a third of Russia’s total primary refining capacity of about 930,000 metric tons (1,025,150 US tons), while the actual drop in crude processing could reach as much as 200,000 metric tons (220,462 US tons) per day, compared with roughly 700,000 metric tons (771,618 US tons) Russian refineries were handling at the end of October. Over the past week alone, drone strikes disrupted operations or triggered emergencies at nine of Russia’s 35 major refineries, Reuters reported. The abrupt diesel deal While the Ukrainian delegation was in Miami hoping to broker an end to Russia’s war with senior US envoys on Oct. 9, Trump held a telephone call with Putin. Shortly after, he announced the diesel deal and the US Treasury Department issued a license authorizing the sale and import of Russian diesel through April 7, 2027. The license came just three weeks after Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act into law on Sept. 18, appearing to disregard the legislation that targets Russia’s energy and defense sectors and allows Washington to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that buy Russian oil. Although the deal was intended to bring down fuel prices and calm domestic pressure ahead of the US midterm elections, Democrats argued that the volumes involved were too small to have a meaningful effect and that the purchases would only help finance the Kremlin’s war effort against Ukraine. Despite the deal, Trump’s Republican Party suffered sweeping losses in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, losing control of both chambers of Congress. Meanwhile, the arrangement significantly strained relations between Kyiv and Washington, leading to escalations in several sectors in the following weeks. On Oct. 13, a bipartisan group of 12 US senators – six Republicans and six Democrats – signed a letter urging Trump to rescind the agreement, describing it as a gift to Moscow and a betrayal of Ukraine. Around the same time, US intelligence officials warned Kyiv that Washington would immediately stop sharing intelligence if Ukraine continued striking Russian energy infrastructure. Ukrainian Defense Forces also faced disruptions to satellite communications after SpaceX imposed speed restrictions on Starshield terminals used by the military on Oct. 14 without prior warning, disrupting Ukraine’s drone operations until full speeds were restored on Oct. 24.