Tankers Carrying Russian Diesel to US Change Course Under Trump-Putin Deal
At least three tankers carrying Russian diesel to the United States have changed course, and as of November 7, 2026, none of the fuel had reached the country, according to Al Jazeera. The shipments are part of an arrangement that US President Donald Trump announced after a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 9.
Trump said Russia would make more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel available immediately. Bloomberg reported on October 10 that Russia had partly lifted its ban on diesel exports as part of the deal, allowing 500,000 metric tonnes of fuel to reach international markets. Trump said a further 500,000 tonnes would follow in November, then 1 million tonnes immediately after.
The deal is aimed at easing US fuel prices. US diesel prices have nearly doubled since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, according to Al Jazeera, and the Financial Times reported on November 4 that US fuel supplies had reached a 20-year low as the diesel deal faltered.
The legal picture is complicated. Washington has banned imports of Russian energy since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and that ban is still in place. To allow the arrangement, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, the agency that administers US sanctions, issued Russia-related General License 135, a formal authorisation that permits transactions otherwise restricted. The Treasury told the Associated Press the exemption was "in compliance with all applicable laws." Under the deal, Russian diesel may be sold, delivered, unloaded and imported until April 7. Al Jazeera reports that buyers fear legal action over purchases of Russian diesel.
Shipping data show the cargoes moving in different directions. The Russian tanker Talisman and the Sierra Leone-flagged Leruo left the Baltic port of Primorsk with the US East Coast as their declared destination. According to Kpler and MarineTraffic, as of November 7 one of them was heading towards Brazil and the other into the Mediterranean. A third tanker in the North Atlantic changed its destination from New York to "for orders." The Moscow Times reported on November 5 that two of the three cargoes bound for the US had diverted. Al Jazeera reports that Russia has sent four tankers loaded with diesel since the deal was agreed.
The Financial Times reported that the Seychelles-owned tanker Beast, which is under sanctions, was loaded at Primorsk in late October and set sail towards the US, signalling "Atlantic" as its destination. The Reuters news agency reported on October 15 that the Trump administration was considering easing sanctions on some so-called shadow fleet vessels, the tankers that carried oil and petroleum products, in part to cut freight rates.
Diversions of Russian fuel cargoes are not new this year. Reuters reported in April that two tankers carrying Russian ultra-low sulphur diesel had been diverted mid-voyage from Brazil to other destinations.
