An oil tanker loaded with diesel fuel set sail on Friday from Russia to the United States, it is the first shipment since President Donald Trump reached a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to release more fuel to the global market.
Trump eased some sanctions on the Kremlin two weeks ago and has since waived others, reversing years of U.S. policy despite Moscow’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in an apparent bid to drive down prices ahead of the midterm elections.
The ship’s departure for the United States was confirmed by the Kremlin. The tanker, a Maltese-flagged ship named “Agioi Fanendes,” left a port in Primorsk, Russia, today, according to MarineTraffic tracking data reviewed by NBC News. The ship indicated New York as its destination.
Energy Aspects, a market research company, said it had confirmed with its industry sources that the ship had loaded 298,000 barrels of diesel in Primorsk.
The company said that currently the ship is planning to unload this fuel in New York. It is expected to arrive on Tuesday, November 10.
The ship’s expected arrival would be just after the midterm elections. Trump’s Republican Party is likely to suffer heavy losses in the seats defended by its candidates in the House and Senate., in part because of negative consumer reactions to soaring energy prices.
Trump and his administration have worked to bring down these prices, which rose following supply shocks resulting from the Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars.
Trump has taken a number of steps to warm ties with the Kremlin and pressure kyiv to agree to end the war, sparking outrage from Ukraine and its bipartisan supporters in Congress.
“I believe the Energy Ministry has already reported that the first tanker has left for its destinations and that other shipments will continue regularly,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.
Crude oil was headed for a third consecutive weekly gain. Brent, the world’s most important oil benchmark, was trading around $114 a barrel, less than $13 from its highest level this year.
Since the beginning of the year, the average price of diesel fuel has increased from $3.55 per gallon to $6.32, an unprecedented 78% increase.
Energy Aspect analysts said the impact of the cargo’s arrival would likely be “limited.”
The sky-high price of diesel has troubled economists more than the rising price of regular gasoline, because “the cost of diesel affects just about everything,” as Diane Swonk, KPMG’s chief economist, told NBC News in an August interview.
“Everything from…running a farm…the cost of food, but also anything that’s shipped throughout the economy gets these extra charges,” she said.
Currently, daily U.S. diesel demand is about 3.8 million barrels per day, meaning Friday’s shipment wouldn’t even be enough for a full day’s use.
“Global distillate markets have tightened sharply,” Francisco Blanch, global head of commodities at Bank of America, said in a recent note, adding that this signals “an acute shortage of refined products.”
Diesel is a distillate fuel produced by refining crude oil.
“Geopolitical disruptions are exacerbating this shortage, as attacks on shipping around Hormuz make energy flows more difficult and costly, while attacks on Russian refining capacity further limit product availability,” he wrote.
Russia is historically one of the world’s largest exporters of diesel.
In September and part of October, the Kremlin restricted diesel exports amid a Ukrainian campaign of attacks on its energy infrastructure. He lifted these export restrictions after the Putin-Trump diesel deal.
Easing sanctions on Russia to open up some previously blocked diesel supplies was just the latest in a number of policy levers pulled by Trump.
In recent weeks, the president also signed an order allowing more widespread use of a variety of off-road diesels. The administration also pressured European allies, particularly Germany and France, to urgently release some of their diesel reserves.
The administration also reportedly pushed for a further release of crude and diesel reserves, although the International Energy Agency rejected that request.
Experts say that even taken together, Trump’s actions won’t help lower prices, which have continued to rise.
“Policy intervention may provide temporary relief, but there is no silver bullet for diesel,” Blanch wrote.
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