The agreement made by US President Donald Trump, permitting the purchase of diesel from Russia, has encountered practical obstacles. Nearly a month after the deal, no Russian diesel has reached the United States. Instead, multiple fuel tankers that set off for the US East Coast have diverted their routes. Analysts believe that legal complexities and uncertainty surrounding sanctions have made fuel traders reluctant to buy Russian diesel.
Al Jazeera reported this information on Saturday (November 7).
According to the report, in October, the Russian tanker ‘Talisman’ and the Sierra Leone-flagged ‘Leruo’ departed from Russia’s Primorsk Baltic port. The declared destination for both vessels was the US East Coast. However, according to maritime data analytics firm Kpler and vessel tracking website MarineTraffic, by Thursday (November 5), one tanker had altered its course towards Brazil, and the other towards the Mediterranean Sea.
A third tanker in the North Atlantic is also showing ‘For Orders’ as its destination instead of New York, meaning its unloading location for fuel is yet to be determined.
On October 9, following a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump announced a diesel supply agreement with Russia. He stated that under the deal, Russia would immediately supply over 300,000 metric tons of diesel for the US and global markets.
Trump further wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, that Moscow would send an additional 500,000 metric tons in November, followed by another 1 million metric tons.
As per the agreement, a temporary waiver for the sale, transport, unloading, and import of Russian diesel was granted until April 7. Trump took this step, citing the argument that a diesel shortage had emerged due to Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy facilities amidst the Russia-Ukraine war.
To this end, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also issued guidance for the temporary sanction waiver. However, this decision has met with objections from lawmakers of both Republican and Democratic parties in the US Congress.
The core complexity lies in the fact that while the US Treasury Department granted a temporary waiver for Russian diesel imports, congressional sanctions on Russian energy imports remain in effect. Consequently, the legal validity of the Trump administration’s decision has been questioned. This situation has created uncertainty among fuel traders, banks, and port authorities.
On Monday (November 2), New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill wrote to port and terminal operators in the state, urging them to turn away Russian fuel-carrying vessels. She warned that “any attempt to profit from illegal trade in Russian fuel will be severely punished.”