Two tankers carrying Russian ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD) were diverted mid-voyage from Brazil to alternative destinations, data from traders and LSEG showed.
Both were loaded in March at the Russian Baltic port of Primorsk and made almost half of the trip to Brazil before the cargo buyers were switched as traders seized on a spike in global prices due to the Iran war, traders said.
Terms of the original or subsequent deals were not clear and it is unusual that buyers are changed once the cargoes have left their original port.
The Cameroon-flagged Flora 1, which loaded about 37,000 tonnes of diesel at Primorsk port on March 31, is now sailing toward the Suez Canal, according to the shipping data.
Another vessel, the Aurora, sailing under the flag of São Tomé and Príncipe, executed a U-turn deep in the Atlantic last week. The tanker loaded 37,000 tonnes of diesel at Primorsk on March 22 and was initially destined for Brazil but is now heading toward the Strait of Gibraltar with its final destination still unclear.
Two additional tankers that loaded a combined 106,000 tonnes of diesel in April from Primorsk were stalled and drifting without direction en route to Brazil, according to LSEG. The reason for the stalling wasn't immediately known.
Traders said mid-voyage course changes could point to widening price gaps between regions, as sellers hunt for higher-margin spot deliveries.
Brazil is a major diesel producer, but depends on imports to meet domestic demand, which makes up 20–30 per cent of its total fuel consumption. Russian diesel exports to Brazil are not prohibited under current sanctions.
Last month, an executive of Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras said, that six of its 11 domestic refineries operate beyond installed capacity to produce fuel locally amid a spike in prices caused by the Iran conflict.
Russia has emerged as the dominant diesel supplier to Brazil since March 2023, rapidly displacing US volumes after the European Union’s ban on Russian oil products took effect.
LSEG data show that diesel shipments from Russian ports to Brazil could surpass 800,000 tonnes in April.
Before sanctions reshaped global trade flows, Europe was the primary destination for Russian diesel.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Bernadette Baum)