Russia Boosts Seaborne Diesel Exports

Russia increased its sea-borne diesel exports by 12% month-on-month in March to 4.5 million tonnes, boosting shipments to other destinations after its products were banned from the EU market, Refinitiv data and Reuters calculations showed.

A full EU embargo on Russian oil products went into effect on Feb. 5.

Turkey remains the top destination for Russian diesel and gasoil supplies, with its shipments almost doubling last month to about 1.6 million tonnes, according to Refinitiv data and Reuters calculations.

About 0.5 million tonnes of those volumes are still en route from Russia's Baltic Sea ports.

Diesel loadings from Russian ports to Brazil and United Arab Emirates (UAE) trading hub Fujairah totaled about 300,000 tonnes each in March, up 12% and 51% respectively month-on-month.

Russia sent about 66,000 tonnes of diesel to Saudi Arabia last month against 485,000 tonnes in February, but some volumes could also have been exported via ship-to-ship (STS) loadings.

"It's pretty hard to track STS shippings," one trader said.

According to Refinitiv data for March, diesel supplies from Russian-controlled ports to African countries increased to a collective 1.0 million tonnes, with Libya, Tunisia, Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Senegal and Morocco among recipients.

About 0.7 million tonnes of March diesel loadings from Russia are heading to STS or have no exact destination.

All the shipping data above are given by cargo departure. About 2.5 million tonnes of diesel loaded in March from Russian-controlled ports is still in transit and could yet change its destination.

In April traders expect falling diesel oil production will lead to lower exports from Russia.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Jan Harvey)