Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday demanded that the head of the Greek owner of a tanker carrying Russian diesel to the U.S. turn the vessel around and refrain from future transactions. The politician said that importing Russian fuel is illegal and that the company is exposing itself to legal consequences.
Blumenthal released a letter with the demand addressed to Thanassis Martinos, head of the Greek shipping company EASTMED. The company is said to own the Malta-flagged tanker Agioi Fanendes, which is carrying the first cargo of Russian diesel from Primorsk to New York.
“Should you confirm that this vessel intends to offload Russian diesel at the Port of New York and New Jersey or elsewhere in the United States, we demand that you recall the Agioi Fanendes and refrain from future transactions involving Russian diesel in accordance with U.S. law,” the senator wrote.
“If the Agioi Fanendes offloads its cargo, you will be implicated in an illegal transaction,” he added. In an accompanying post on the platform X, he warned the owner of moral and legal responsibility.
According to the senator, despite a license for importing Russian oil issued by the Trump administration, such a document cannot circumvent the provisions of a 2022 law that unambiguously bans imports of fuels and hydrocarbons from Russia. Blumenthal also asked the businessman for information about other companies involved in the planned diesel import and gave him until Oct. 31 to respond. The ship is due to arrive in New York on Nov. 7.
The letter was published after a group of members of Congress warned U.S. banks, insurance companies and logistics firms last week that they would expose themselves to legal liability if they took part in a sale of Russian fuel. The lawmakers also announced a congressional investigation into the matter.
The tanker’s cargo of 40,000 metric tons of diesel is to be the first delivery under an agreement reached by Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin. According to Trump, over six months Russia would export a total of nearly 5 million metric tons to the U.S. and other countries, which is equivalent to less than two weeks of U.S. consumption of the fuel.
On Tuesday, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the first diesel deliveries are meant to be merely “a certain signal” and, at the same time, an incentive for Russia to end the war.
“If the war ends and the conflict eases, there will be a small economic incentive. But Russia must change its behavior to gain any tangible benefit from this,” he told CNBC.
From Washington, Oskar Górzyński (PAP)
