Three Tankers Carrying Russian Diesel Head for US Ports as Trump-Putin Deal Triggers Legal Showdown in Congress

Three tankers carrying Russian diesel are crossing the Atlantic toward United States ports, with a fourth set to depart soon. The shipments are arriving as President Donald Trump's fuel deal with Moscow draws opposition in Congress and threats to investigate the companies involved.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed the tanker movements on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit. According to TASS, he said there are three ships at the moment, the fourth has not yet departed, and it was expected to leave Russia on October 28.

The shipments total around 140,000 metric tons. They are the first authorised cargoes under an October 9 agreement between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin temporarily permitting imports of Russian diesel.

The administration says it followed the process to ease diesel prices amid supply disruptions linked to the war with Iran and Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries. Under the deal, Washington authorised certain Russian diesel imports in exchange for Moscow releasing 300,000 metric tons to global markets, rising to 500,000 in November and potentially 1 million per month after that.

The deal has triggered opposition on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers argue the administration lacks the authority to bypass the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act of 2022 without congressional approval.

Senator Richard Blumenthal escalated the opposition on Tuesday, demanding that two shipping companies recall tankers carrying Russian diesel bound for US ports. In letters to Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Limited and PetroVietnam, he argued that the Treasury Department's General License No. 135 cannot override the 2022 import ban and warned that the deliveries would violate federal law. He also demanded details about the companies involved and any federal guidance they received by October 31.

Former Treasury Department sanctions official Jeremy Paner, a partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, said Trump has the legal authority to allow the imports. He said the action did not lift, remove or waive the underlying prohibition on importing Russian diesel; it simply authorised specific transactions, which is different as a matter of law.

The incoming tankers have drawn scrutiny because at least two of the vessels are subject to Western sanctions, according to reports. The first tanker, the Malta-flagged Agioi Fanendes, is carrying about 40,000 metric tons of diesel and signalling New York as its destination, with an estimated arrival date of November 7.

A second vessel, the 20-year-old Talisman, is expected to reach the East Coast on November 9 and is sanctioned by the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union. The third tanker, the Sierra Leone-flagged, Hong Kong-owned Leruo, is signalling an East Coast arrival around November 11. The Leruo was sanctioned in 2025 by the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada over alleged deceptive shipping practices involving Russian oil and petroleum products and ship-to-ship transfers at sea.

Paner said the US authorisation would allow the shipments to proceed under American sanctions rules even if a vessel is separately designated, but it would not automatically protect foreign companies operating under other countries' sanctions regimes, and European operators would not be covered by it.

Novak criticised lawmakers opposing the arrangement, accusing them of acting against the interests of American consumers. In an October letter to commercial banks, fuel distributors and port authorities in New York, New Jersey and along the Texas Gulf Coast, lawmakers also warned that companies involved in the diesel shipments could face investigations, and demanded that they preserve transaction records, port reservations and communications, confirming by October 28 that they had done so.