Russia's seaborne diesel and gasoil shipments from Black Sea ports fell to zero in the week to Sept. 24, the first complete halt ever recorded, according to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data.

The wipeout reverses the prior week, when 66,000 mt of Russian diesel/gasoil left the port of Novorossiysk — already elevated above the previous five-week average of 51,000 mt. At the equivalent point in 2024, Black Sea ports typically dispatched around 200,000 mt per week.

How far have national flows fallen?

Total Russian diesel and gasoil exports nearly halved week-on-week to 81,000 mt, all of it loaded at the Baltic port of Primorsk and destined solely for Morocco and Venezuela. The week before, cargoes had cleared to at least five markets, including Turkey, Morocco and Singapore.

Month-to-date Russian diesel/gasoil shipments stand at 448,000 mt, down from 535,000 mt in August and 713,000 mt in July, CAS data shows.

What is driving the collapse?

The Kremlin extended its nationwide diesel export ban through the end of October on Sept. 14, citing domestic supply pressure compounded by a string of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries. Recent targets include the Ilsky, Slavyansk, Perm and Novoshakhtinsk facilities.

US President Donald Trump weighed in on Sept. 27 in comments to Fox News, blaming the disruption for soaring diesel prices and asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to "take it easy on the refineries."

"The big problem is the refineries in Russia are being blown up. This isn't really a Middle Eastern problem; this is more of a Russia problem," Trump said.

How is the broader product mix shifting?

Russia's seaborne clean-product exports in the same week split as follows:

• 81,000 mt of diesel/gasoil (Primorsk only)
• 197,000 mt of unspecified clean products from Far East and Baltic loading terminals
• 227,000 mt of naphtha

No jet fuel or gasoline departed Russian seaports for the second consecutive week, according to CAS data.

What does it mean for buyers and shippers?

The squeeze has flipped Russia's trade balance. For a second straight week, the country imported approximately 40,000 mt of unspecified clean products from the Moroccan port of Tanger Med — a reversal that underscores how domestic refining outages have redrawn traditional product flows into the Mediterranean and West Africa.

Adding to market opacity, President Vladimir Putin on Sept. 28 signed a decree restricting access to a wide range of Russian energy data, including refinery throughput, export logistics and exchange-floor information on planned gasoline and diesel sales.

The combination of an extended export ban, repeated refinery damage and tightening data visibility points to continued volatility in Russian product flows through October, with diesel and gasoil availability for key Mediterranean and African buyers likely to stay constrained until the Kremlin next reviews the restrictions.