The tanker “Agioi Fanendes”, carrying Russian diesel fuel to the United States, unexpectedly changed course about 740 kilometers from New York. The vessel still has no confirmed port of discharge.
This is reported by Bloomberg, citing port documents and ship tracking data.
The tanker, carrying about 300 000 barrels of diesel fuel, left the Russian port of Primorsk in the Baltic Sea in late October and initially listed New York as its destination.
The crew later changed its destination to “awaiting orders”. On Monday, November 9, the ship began moving away from the US East Coast and has been zigzagging in the Atlantic Ocean ever since.
Eastern Mediterranean “Maritime Ltd.”, which operates the tanker, explained that the vessel is awaiting further instructions as the port of discharge has not yet been confirmed.
This is the third Russian diesel tanker to change course en route to the US. On November 5, the Financial Times reported that the two vessels that were the first to set sail for the US under the agreement between Donald Trump and Putin have changed course and are no longer heading to American ports.
US-Russia diesel deal
On October 9, the US President Donald Trump reported that he had reached an agreement with Putin to supply Russian diesel to the US and global markets. To this end, Washington temporarily eased sanctions against Russian diesel.
Trump then explained that this agreement, along with US control of the Strait of Hormuz, would help to quickly lower diesel prices in the US and around the world. According to him, Russia would initially supply 300 000 tons of fuel, followed by another 500 000 tons in November, and then another million tons.
At the same time, the US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that one of the reasons for the agreements with Russia was the desire to encourage the Kremlin to end the war against Ukraine.
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