Russia News

Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil exports fell 3% in March from February to around 3.06 million metric tons as repeated drone attacks disrupted fuel loadings at key ports, data from market sources and LSEG showed.Ultra-low-sulphur diesel shipments from the Baltic port of Primorsk, Russia's biggest outlet for diesel exports, fell to 1.713 million tons, down 2.6% from February, the sources said.The Russian Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga were repeatedly hit by Ukrainian drone attacks last week.On March 22, the two ports suspended oil and fuel loadings following drone attacks.

A Russia-flagged tanker carrying some 700,000 barrels of crude arrived in Cuba's Matanzas Bay at daybreak on Tuesday, according to a Reuters witness and shipping data, marking the first significant oil delivery since the Trump administration cut off the island's fuel supply.The Anatoly Kolodkin vessel, under U.S. sanctions, entered Cuban territorial waters late on Sunday not far from the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay. The U.S. said it was allowing the tanker to deliver fuel…

More than two dozen ships sanctioned for being part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet have passed through UK waters since Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week authorised the military to detain vessels used by Moscow to export oil.The figures based on ship tracking data analysed by Reuters show that oil tankers sanctioned by Britain are continuing to travel along England's southern coast in the same numbers as before the announcement.British officials said almost a week ago that…

Russia's Baltic Ust-Luga port, one of its largest petroleum export hubs, was damaged again on Sunday by a Ukrainian drone attack which sparked a blaze later brought under control, Russian officials said.It followed several Ukrainian drone strikes last week on Russia’s western energy corridor when facilities at the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk came under fire, igniting storage tanks and forcing a suspension of oil and oil product loadings.The regional governor of Leningrad said…

Russian oil producers have warned buyers they could declare force majeure on supplies from major Baltic Sea ports as Ukraine presses ahead with attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, two industry sources said on Friday.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters this week that Kyiv was using long-range strikes to maintain pressure on Russia after international oil sanctions on Moscow were eased due to global supply disruptions caused by the Iran war.Ukrainian drones on Friday targeted the port in Ust-Luga, where a fire caused by a previous strike on Wednesday was still raging, the

A tanker carrying some 200,000 barrels of Russia-origin fuel originally bound for Cuba has arrived in Venezuelan waters, LSEG ship-monitoring data showed on Friday.The Hong Kong-flagged vessel Sea Horse, which this year loaded Russia-origin diesel through a ship-to-ship transfer, earlier this month rerouted from Cuba to Venezuela after remaining stuck in the Atlantic Ocean for weeks, a blow for the oil-thirsty island that has seen several power blackouts this month.It was unclear why the Sea Horse had been stranded at sea, or why it had changed course to Venezuela.The administration of U.S.

Russia's threat to halt liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries to Europe and divert cargoes to Asia would prove difficult to achieve because of its long-term contracts and need for more Arctic-class tankers, industry analysts said.President Vladimir Putin said in a TV interview early in March that Russia could stop gas supplies to Europe with immediate effect and seek longer-term commitments from other buyers.The impact of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has caused a surge in gas prices…

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the U.S. has been seeking control over the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, which were damaged by mysterious blast in September 2022.Explosions that destroyed the pipelines more than three years ago largely severed Russian gas transit to Europe, squeezing energy supplies on the continent although Russia had already largely stopped deliveries.Russia and Western countries have both said the incident was an act of sabotage.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday he had authorised the military to board and detain Russian ships in British waters to disrupt a network of vessels that his government says enables Moscow to export oil despite Western sanctions.The decision comes as other European nations, including France, Belgium and Sweden, have stepped up efforts to detain Russia's so-called shadow fleet of tankers used by Moscow to fund its four-year war against Ukraine.Starmer said he approved…

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday he has given the military permission to board and detain Russian ships his government alleges are part of a network of vessels that enables Moscow to export oil despite Western sanctions.The decision comes as other European nations have stepped up efforts to disrupt Russia's so-called shadow fleet of tankers used by Moscow to fund its four-year war against Ukraine.Starmer said he approved more aggressive action against the…

Libya’s coast guard has begun towing away a damaged liquefied natural gas tanker that several Mediterranean countries warned posed an environmental risk after drifting unmanned for weeks, the Tripoli‑based Government of National Unity (GNU) said.The Russian-flagged Arctic Metagaz, carrying LNG from the Arctic port of Murmansk, has been adrift since early March, when Russia's Transport Ministry said it was hit by Ukrainian naval drones.With no crew aboard, it eventually drifted close to the shores of the western Libyan port of Zuwara.Italy…

A fire broke out at Russia's Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, a major oil export hub, after a major Ukrainian drone attack, Russian officials said on Wednesday.Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian oil refineries and export routes over recent weeks in an attempt to weaken Russia's war economy.Ust-Luga and Primorsk, on the Gulf of Finland, were forced to suspend exports of oil and crude on Sunday after drone attacks but they had restarted loadings on Monday, Reuters reported.But Alexander Drozdenko…

A damaged Russian LNG tanker that has been drifting unmanned in the Mediterranean for more than two weeks, risking a major ecological disaster, is four to six days from Libya’s shores, an Italian official said on Friday.The Arctic Metagaz, carrying LNG from the Arctic port of Murmansk, has been unmanned since early March, when it was hit by Ukrainian naval drones, according to Russia's Transport Ministry.Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for any such attack.The tanker is currently in international waters falling under Libya's search and rescue zone, some 53 nautical miles (98 kilometres) nor

The French Navy seized an oil tanker on Friday in the Western Mediterranean that President Emmanuel Macron said belonged to Russia's shadow fleet, a network of vessels that enables Moscow to export oil despite Western sanctions.Local officials told Reuters earlier on Friday that the navy had boarded a Mozambique-flagged oil tanker named Deyna that was suspected of flying a false flag. The ship had been sailing from the Russian port of Murmansk.Western sanctions imposed on Russia…

U.S. President Donald Trump is considering easing oil sanctions on Russia and releasing emergency crude stockpiles as part of a package of options aimed at curbing spiking global oil prices amid the Iran conflict, according to multiple sources.The deliberations reflect White House worries that the surge in oil prices following more than a week of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran will hurt U.S. businesses and consumers ahead of the November midterm elections, when Trump's fellow…

A Russian tanker carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) sank in the Mediterranean on Wednesday after what Moscow described as an attack by Ukrainian drones launched from Libya.The Arctic Metagaz sank in waters between Libya and Malta after catching fire a day earlier, Libya's maritime rescue agency said in an advisory seen by Reuters."Information indicates that the tanker experienced sudden explosions followed by a massive fire, which ultimately led to its complete sinking," the agency said.Ukraine has frequently targeted Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure in an attempt to de

Russia has been unable to capitalize on this week's surge in global crude prices, as days of Ukrainian drone attacks and harsh winter storms have sharply curtailed its capacity to export oil, industry sources said.Russia's Sheskharis oil terminal in Novorossiysk port suspended oil loadings on Monday after a Ukrainian drone attack left a fuel terminal ablaze and damaged dozens of buildings, Russian and Ukrainian officials and three trade sources said.Crude oil benchmarks rose about 8% on Tuesday…

Belgium seized an oil tanker belonging to the Russian shadow fleet on Sunday and suspected of sailing with a "false flag and false documents", Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said.Western sanctions imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine and aimed at cutting its oil revenues have led to the rise of a "shadow fleet" of tankers helping Moscow to keep its crude exports flowing."Over the past few hours, our armed forces, with the support of the French Defence, have boarded an oil tanker belonging to the Russian shadow fleet…

The Druzhba pipeline exported some Ukrainian oil, as well as much higher volumes of Russian crude, before it was damaged a month ago by a Russian strike that has led to a halt in supply, three industry sources familiar with the matter said.Oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia through the pipeline primarily operated by Russia have been suspended since January 27 following what Kyiv says was a Russian attack on pumping installations in western Ukraine, prompting a dispute within…

Croatia is assessing whether it can lawfully import seaborne Russian crude oil to supply to Hungary and Slovakia after the Druzhba pipeline supplying them via Ukraine was damaged, the European Commission said on Wednesday.Supply via Druzhba to Hungary and Slovakia, the only EU countries still importing Russian oil, was halted on January 27 due to damage which Kyiv blamed on a Russian drone strike."Croatia has communicated that it is assessing the situation, whether it can lawfully accept Russian crude at its port, both under the EU and U.S.

Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has cut crude intake into its system by some 250,000 barrels per day after a Ukrainian drone attack on its Kaleykino pumping station on Monday, two sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.The cuts mostly affected shipments from Tatarstan producer Tatneft, one of the sources said.Ukrainian drones hit the major Kaleykino station, which serves the Druzhba pipeline carrying Moscow's crude to Eastern Europe and to Russia's main western ports…

Britain on Tuesday sanctioned Maritime Mutual, the New Zealand-based marine insurer that was the subject of a Reuters special report into how it had helped in the trade of tens of billions of dollars of Iranian and Russian oil."(Maritime Mutual) is or has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Russia by carrying on business in a sector of strategic significance to the Government of Russia, namely the Russian energy sector," the British government…

Hungary's MOL group has ordered tankers delivering Saudi, Norwegian, Kazakh, Libyan and Russian oil to supply its Hungarian and Slovak refineries and halted diesel supplies to Ukraine as it scrambles to overcome an outage of the Druzhba pipeline, officials said on Wednesday.MOL's refineries, the last in the EU to receive Russian oil through Druzhba, have struggled since a supply halt that Ukraine says was due to a Russian attack that damaged the pipeline infrastructure on January 27.The refineries plan to start tapping state oil reserves, with the Slovak government approving on Wednesday a loa