How Trump’s Russian Diesel Could End Up in Cuba Instead

The tanker billed as the first to carry Russian diesel to the United States under Donald Trump’s deal with Vladimir Putin has dropped New York as its destination. The Malta-flagged Agioi Fanendes left Primorsk on October 22 with about 40,000 metric tons of ultra-low-sulfur diesel, due in New York on November 7. Lloyd’s List reported it idling off Skagen, Denmark, on October 26. Its tracking now shows “for orders,” meaning it has no declared port.

On October 27, Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote to Thanassis Martinos, managing director of the tanker’s Athens-based owner, Eastern Mediterranean Maritime. He demanded that the company recall the vessel if it intends to deliver to a U.S. port, and refrain from future Russian diesel deals.

I’m sending a sledgehammer message to shipping companies whose tankers are transporting illegal Russian diesel to our ports. Reverse course while there’s still time. https://t.co/4sViosX3nM

Blumenthal argues that the 2022 Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act bars the cargo regardless of Treasury’s General License 135, which authorizes Russian diesel transactions through April 7, 2027. “The President may have given a license to facilitate this transaction, but only Congress can make it legally valid,” he wrote.

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