A fuel tanker is discharging Russian diesel at the port of Venezuela, after U.S. sanctions were eased last year, data from traders and LSEG showed on Monday.

Sea Maverick with about 33,000 metric tons of ultra-low sulphur diesel loaded at the end of December 2023 at the Russian Baltic port of Primorsk is discharging at the El Palito port in Venezuela, according to LSEG data.

The U.S. broadly eased sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector in response to a deal reached between the government and opposition parties for the 2024 election.

A new general license issued by the U.S. Treasury Department authorized OPEC member Venezuela, which had been under crushing sanctions since 2019, to produce and export oil to its chosen markets for the next six months without limitation and also to source oil imports from any country.

Since the full EU embargo on Russian oil products took effect on Feb. 5, traders have diverted diesel exports from Russian ports to countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Previously Europe was the main buyer.

Russian ULSD shipments to Brazil hit a record high in November, data from traders and LSEG showed.

In December last year, Russia has also sent a diesel cargo loaded in Primorsk to Panama, according to shipping data.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Reuters. Editing by David Evans)