Seven tankers carrying 288,000 metric tons of Russian diesel are now sailing towards the United States, and Greenpeace Ukraine on Thursday published their names and live positions — setting up a legal and political fight over whether ships sanctioned as part of Russia's shadow fleet will be allowed to unload at American ports.
Source: The Kyiv Independent
The vessels — Taurus, Pvt Azura, Agioi Fanendes, Talisman, Leruo, Iblea and Primorye — are the first wave of the deal President Donald Trump announced on October 9, temporarily allowing Russian diesel sales to try to lower fuel costs driven up by the war with Iran. Awaaz Punjab reported the deal's first tanker sailing on October 21, when Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said the first shipment was under way; on October 28, AFP reported Novak saying three tankers were heading to the US with a fourth due to sail. Greenpeace's tracking, built from shipping data and other sources, is the fullest count yet: one tanker, Taurus, is already relatively close to the US East Coast, five were near the United Kingdom and three were sailing through or into the English Channel, The Guardian reported. The cargoes — 288,000 tonnes, yaani about 21 lakh barrels of diesel, out of a 1.8-million-tonne deal, yaani about 1.3 crore barrels in total — are expected to arrive in early November, though their destination ports are not known.
Source: The Guardian
Three of the seven are sanctioned shadow-fleet ships
Three of the seven vessels — Talisman, Leruo and Primorye — are sanctioned by multiple countries as part of Russia's shadow fleet, according to Ukraine's war sanctions portal, and Talisman has been under US sanctions since January 2025. 'Every shipment of Russian diesel comes at a human cost,' said Polina Kolodiazhna, an energy campaigner at Greenpeace Ukraine. 'Every dollar flowing into Russia risks fueling more attacks, more destruction and more deaths.'
The legal challenge is already moving. Senator Richard Blumenthal warned a shipping company carrying the diesel on October 28 to turn back or risk violating US sanctions law, arguing that the shipments are banned under the 2022 Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act and that Trump's deal with President Vladimir Putin does not 'supersede clear, unambiguous law'. On Thursday, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill told KYW Newsradio she was considering blocking the tankers from the state's ports: 'Make no mistake: Trump's diesel deal with Putin is corrupt and illegal, and I am evaluating options to stop it from arriving at a port in New Jersey.'
The shipments sail days before the November 3 midterm elections, with fuel prices a live issue for American voters — and for the Punjabi and Indian truckers who run on US diesel and watch every swing in pump prices. Whether the tankers will actually be allowed to discharge is now the central question, with lawmakers warning banks and port operators that helping the deliveries could bring investigations.