Russian Diesel Shipment Heads to Morocco After Trump-Putin Deal
A tanker carrying 40,000 tonnes of Russian diesel headed for Morocco after loading on Tuesday, October 13. The shipment comes days after an agreement between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin aimed at restarting Russian fuel exports and lowering global prices.
Morocco is among the first destinations as Russian diesel shipments resume from the port of Primorsk on the Baltic Sea. According to LSEG shipping data cited by Reuters, a tanker loaded about 40,000 tonnes of very-low-sulfur diesel on Tuesday, October 13, before heading for the Kingdom. The move follows an agreement between Washington and Moscow to put more Russian fuel back on international markets.
On Bladi.net : Tanger Med Sends Fuel to Russia as Russian Diesel Continues to Reach Morocco
The diplomatic shift is striking. On Friday, October 9, Donald Trump announced that Russia had agreed to supply new quantities of diesel to the global market in an effort to bring prices down. His administration also temporarily suspended some US sanctions targeting the fuel, removing an obstacle to resuming trade.
Moscow followed the next day. On October 10, Russian authorities partially eased their ban on diesel exports, which had been imposed to protect domestic supplies. Ukrainian strikes on refineries and oil infrastructure had sharply reduced available volumes as international energy tensions drove prices higher.
Russia aims to return to its usual export volumes
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexandre Novak is now looking further ahead. On Monday, October 12, he said exports could reach between 3 and 3.5 million tonnes of diesel per month by the end of the year. That would match the volumes Moscow usually marketed before the latest disruptions.
For Morocco, the reopening comes at a particularly sensitive time. The Kingdom relies heavily on fuel imports since the shutdown of the Samir refinery. In the first half of 2026, Russia had supplied it with 1.35 million tonnes of diesel and gasoil, out of a total of 4.34 million tonnes imported. It was then Morocco’s top supplier.
On Bladi.net : Morocco’s diesel supply faces pressure as Russia extends export curbs and US sales come under threat
Restrictions imposed by Moscow had already complicated these supplies. At the end of September, S&P Global data showed that Morocco continued to receive Russian diesel despite export restrictions. The cargoes came in particular from Primorsk, where loadings had fallen sharply.
The tanker reported this week therefore marks a new stage in these trade flows, but is not the first Russian delivery to Morocco. Shipping data do not identify the commercial recipient of its 40,000 tonnes or the Moroccan port where they will be unloaded.
The Trump-Putin deal has nonetheless drawn strong international criticism. Ukraine and several European officials accuse Washington of giving Moscow a new source of revenue in the midst of the war. The Kremlin, by contrast, has defended energy cooperation as beneficial to both countries and to global markets.
