Russian Diesel Deal Yields No Confirmed U.S. Delivery as Two Tankers Change Course

Key Facts

The arrangement announced by U.S. President Donald Trump with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, had resulted in no confirmed diesel delivery to the United States by November 5, according to an Associated Press report. The agency said two tankers had changed course, one toward Brazil and the other to the Mediterranean, while a third vessel remained in the North Atlantic bound for the United States. But the third tanker changed its destination from New York to “for orders,” leaving its discharge location unspecified. These movements cast doubt on the arrangement’s commercial execution, although Washington said the sanctions waiver allows dealings in the fuel. Trump announced on October 9 that more than 300,000 metric tons of Russian diesel would be made immediately available to U.S. and global markets, with larger shipments to follow.

The Associated Press reported that the White House and the Kremlin had not disclosed whether the agreement was written, nor announced the shipment prices, payment terms or companies involved. The absence of these details leaves practical questions about who the buyers are and how the deals will be completed, as the destinations of some vessels have become unclear. Matt Smith, an analyst at Kpler, said it was unclear whether there were U.S. buyers for the shipments and that the third tanker could also change course. He added that regulatory and sanctions-related concerns could prevent the cargo from being discharged on the U.S. Atlantic coast. “Because of regulatory concerns and sanctions concerns, we may not see this cargo discharged on the U.S. Atlantic coast,” he said.

One obstacle centers on the dispute over whether the U.S. administration has authority to grant the waiver while a congressional ban on Russian energy imports remains in place. The Associated Press quoted New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill as saying she had advised port and terminal operators in the state to reject vessels carrying the fuel, citing potential legal consequences. Sherrill said the Trump administration lacked authority to override the congressional ban and that the state would use its legal and regulatory powers to prevent local facilities and companies from handling Russian fuel. The administration, by contrast, maintained that the authorization it issued was legal, and no court had ruled on the dispute at the time of the agency’s report. The Treasury Department said the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions waiver covers the sale, delivery, discharge and import of Russian diesel through April 7, 2027.

Political opposition has also reached the Senate, where a bipartisan group of members urged Trump to abandon the deal, warning that the United States “should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline.” Meanwhile, Putin envoy Kirill Dmitriev denied a Financial Times report that the vessels had changed course, saying tankers bound for the United States were still continuing their journey. Dmitriev wrote: “False. Tankers bound for the United States are continuing on their route.” These positions highlight the contrast between political opposition and Russian statements on one side, and the vessel routes reported by the agency on the other. A Kremlin spokesman said he did not have details of the commercial shipments, but added that “all the diesel will find a buyer.”

The dispute comes as diesel supplies matter to U.S. prices, with the trucking and agriculture sectors relying on the fuel to produce and transport goods, according to the Associated Press. The agency quoted analysts as estimating that Russian imports were unlikely to reduce U.S. diesel prices significantly, even if the shipments arrived. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said the average retail price of diesel was $6.29 per gallon in September, attributing the increase to higher crude prices and wider distillate refining margins. In futures trading, the nearest-expiring New York Mercantile Exchange heating oil and low-sulfur diesel contract settled at $4.3317 per gallon on November 6. These prices alone do not settle the shipments’ impact, while the third tanker’s destination and the possibility of discharging the fuel in the United States remain unresolved.