Russian Diesel Tanker Heads to New York in First US Delivery Since 2022

A tanker carrying nearly 300,000 barrels of Russian diesel is heading to New York, marking the first such delivery since a US-Russia agreement announced in early October. The vessel is expected to arrive November 7, four days after the US midterm elections. The Maltese-flagged Agioi-Fanendes departed the Russian port of Primorsk on October 22-23 and was off Helsinki on Friday, with New York as its stated destination. Bloomberg estimates the cargo at about 43,000 tonnes of ultra-low-sulfur diesel, the first Russian refined fuel shipment to the US since imports were halted after the 2022 Ukraine invasion. The US Treasury granted a waiver allowing deliveries through April, though buyer and seller identities remain undisclosed. Washington presents the deal as a way to curb fuel prices amid Middle East disruptions, while Moscow says it could supply 3-3.5 million tonnes to US and global markets. Kyiv and European allies have criticized the agreement, with Zelensky calling it "weak," while Trump defends it as "the right choice for the American people."