Moscow said on Thursday that shipments of Russian diesel bound for the United States were still on course, after tracking data showed two of three vessels appeared to be heading to other destinations. US President Donald Trump eased sanctions on Russian oil last month as part of a deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to supply hundreds of thousands of tonnes of diesel directly to the United States.
The agreement caused uproar in Ukraine and Europe. The Financial Times reported Wednesday that two of the tankers - which set sail from the Russian port of Primorsk in mid-October - appeared to have changed their destination and were no longer headed to the United States.
"Tankers destined for the US continue on course," Kirill Dmitriev, a Kremlin envoy and negotiator, said on X, linking to the FT story. One of the tankers, the sanctioned Talisman, was sailing off the Tunisian coast on Thursday, according to data from the maritime tracking site MarineTraffic.
After sailing through the English Channel on October 29, it then turned south, skirted the Bay of Biscay and the Portuguese coast before entering the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar on Monday. It had been due to arrive on the east coast of the United States on November 9, according to its initial route.
According to the analysis firm Kpler, it now does not list any destination port and is carrying 324,000 barrels of diesel. Another of the tankers - the Leruo - was on Thursday showing its destination as Brazil as it sailed southwest through the Atlantic.
A third tanker, the Agioi Fanendes, still had New York listed as its destination and was scheduled to dock there on Saturday, according to Kpler data. Asked about the reports, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said details of shipments were a "commercial" matter that could not be made public.
"All diesel will find its buyers," he added. The situation remains fluid as global markets watch the impact of these logistical shifts on energy prices.
Analysts suggest that the redirection of these vessels could be a strategic move to bypass logistical bottlenecks or respond to shifting market demands in South America. The Kremlin continues to maintain that the deal with the United States is proceeding as planned, despite the conflicting data provided by independent tracking services.
The international community remains skeptical, with European officials closely monitoring the movement of these tankers to ensure compliance with existing trade protocols. As the vessels continue their journey, the focus remains on whether the final delivery points will align with the initial agreements made between the two world leaders.
The uncertainty surrounding these shipments highlights the complexities of international energy trade in the current geopolitical climate.