Siete petroleros navegan con 288.000 toneladas de gasóleo ruso hacia EE. UU.

TVS News AI, supervisado editorialmente, presenta Siete petroleros navegan con 288.000 toneladas de gasóleo ruso hacia EE. UU.

Siete petroleros, 288.000 toneladas y un destino que ya está bajo sospecha en el mar: los barcos transportan gasóleo ruso hacia Estados Unidos. La organización medioambiental Greenpeace ha documentado el movimiento. Según un informe del Guardian, este transporte constituye la primera fase de un acuerdo de suministro controvertido negociado entre los presidentes Donald Trump y Wladimir Putin.

De lo que se trata es de algo más que del movimiento de barcos. Los envíos Wouldn't invert the years-long sanctions on Russian oil. At the same time, it remains unclear whether the seven ships will even be able to deliver their cargo to US ports. The hard number is clear: the cargo is estimated at 288,000 tonnes. Whether this will become a deal that is actually completed will only be determined at the unloading stage.

The cargo is the first step in a 1.8-million-tonne agreement

Wladimir Putin had agreed to supply 1.8 million tonnes of diesel to US President Trump in a surprisingly announced agreement on 9 October. 300,000 tonnes were supposed to follow immediately. Trump then announced a six-month exemption from existing sanctions so that shipments could continue.

The seven tankers now being tracked by Greenpeace form part of this first phase. The volume of 288,000 tonnes is slightly below the 300,000 tonnes initially announced. According to the Guardian, however, the figure is an estimate. It describes the cargo of the observed vessels and does not automatically represent the entire delivery volume of the agreement.

Until then, only three tankers had been counted as having left Russian oil terminals in the Baltic Sea. For the newly documented group, Greenpeace used a range of sources, including various ship-tracking websites, according to its own information. In the environmental organisation's assessment, this observation is therefore the most comprehensive so far.

The first phase is thus clearly delineated. The total volume of 1.8 million tonnes cannot simply be inferred from seven documented ships. Nor does the report provide individual delivery dates or a complete list of all the ports that the later shipments are expected to visit.

The ships are already on their way – unloading remains the political sticking point

At first glance, the news seems simple: Russian diesel is moving towards the US market. The crucial additional issue concerns the legal position. Greenpeace energy specialist Shaun Burnie argues that the shipments should be stopped if the tankers' locations can be tracked on a map. In his assessment, the US Congress or local authorities could halt the transports.

His justification is politically clear: “Instead of rewarding Russia for its brutal war against Ukraine, it needs tougher sanctions. These shipments can be stopped.” The demand therefore opposes not only the shipment itself, but also the political decision to allow it in the first place.

The blockade has not yet been completed. According to reports, the White House has tried to encourage US companies to take over the oil. Buyers are not in sight, however, according to the Guardian, because the legal risks are particularly high immediately before the midterm elections next Tuesday.

A group of US representatives, led by several Democratic senators, warned banks and port authorities against accepting the Russian diesel. They would have to expect congressional investigations and further legal action if they cleared the cargo. Mikie Sherrill, the Democratic governor of New Jersey, said she was examining ways to prevent an unloading in her state. She described the agreement as “corrupt and illegal”.

This places two levels alongside each other: the ships are already heading towards the United States, but the actual decision will only be made when the cargo is accepted. Without an unloading, the documented approach would not prove immediate access to the US market for the estimated amount of diesel. However, the political controversy does not mean that the delivery has definitively been prevented either.

From the oil terminals to the English Channel

Greenpeace was able to show the positions of the seven ships on a map. This is intended to make the observation traceable and support the call to stop the transports. At the beginning of the published map, the Taurus tanker was already relatively close to the United States. Five of the other ships were near the United Kingdom, and three were travelling through the English Channel or entering it.

The ships are thus spread across different routes and regions. The report also names the PVT Azura as one of the observed vessels. For the accompanying image, Greenpeace refers to a file photograph of the PVT Azura. This is an image, not a photograph showing the current status of the entire delivery.

Previous reports on the first three tankers referred to departures from Russian oil terminals in the Baltic Sea. For the seven ships now being tracked, the Guardian's summary gives no individual departure locations or complete routes. The position data shows the situation when the map was first published.

Greenpeace therefore provides the link between the seven ships and the political agreement. The organisation is not only tracking the volume of cargo but is also connecting the documented movement with the demand to stop the shipments in the United States.

Trump promises lower diesel prices – the market shows a different trend

Trump justified the agreement by saying it could lower diesel prices in the United States. According to the American Automobile Association, the price per gallon was US$6.28 when the agreement was announced. It later rose to US$6.33.

As a result, the price trend cited in the report did not show the expected reduction at the time of publication. The political benefit Trump associated with the deal ran into rising fuel prices. At the same time, his approval ratings had fallen following the attack on Iran in the spring. The midterm elections therefore promise to place an additional strain on the implementation of the supply agreement.

The weighing of options within the US government is also unambiguous. Officials apparently want to prevent banks, port operators or companies from accepting the legally disputed delivery. The cargo itself is therefore not automatically off the table: the tankers are moving, the US authorities are examining acceptance and the political attribution remains disputed.

The sanctions regime is reversed under a six-month exemption

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the country had been subject to economic sanctions by the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom and other Western economies. In autumn, Trump had changed course and tried to work more closely with Putin, even though Russia continues to attack Ukraine.

The six-month sanctions exemption now forms the legal framework for the first shipments. At the same time, a presidential decree from late September restricted the publication of information about Russian oil exports. According to the Guardian, the Kremlin wanted to conceal the latest export volumes and circumvent international sanctions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the agreement because the money it generated could help the Kremlin continue financing the war. His criticism was directed particularly at “backroom deals” that would give Putin more chances on the battlefield.

The political counterweight remains sharp: Trump sees the shipment as a tool for lowering diesel prices, while Greenpeace and Ukrainian critics understand the agreement as support for Russia's conduct of the war. What has been established is that there are seven tankers, an estimated cargo of 288,000 tonnes heading towards the United States, the first phase of the agreement and the unresolved question of unloading.