# Washington considers letting sanctioned tankers carry oil and seeks Russian diesel before the midterms

Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed that talks on easing shadow-fleet sanctions are under way. Moscow says the diesel supply deal President Trump announced is still being negotiated.

- Published: 2026-10-15T05:13:03.263Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-15/washington-considers-letting-sanctioned-tankers-carry-oil-an
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [Investing.com Commodities](https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/us-weighs-easing-sanctions-on-shadow-fleet-to-curb-shipping-costs--reuters-4950473), [Africanews](http://www.africanews.com/2026/10/14/russia-says-diesel-supply-deal-with-us-under-negotiation-after-trump-putin-call/), [Kommersant](https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/9026867), [MercoPress](https://en.mercopress.com/2026/10/14/us-lifts-sanctions-on-jorge-rodriguez-president-of-venezuela-s-national-assembly?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=main&utm_campaign=rss)

The Trump administration is considering easing sanctions on the "shadow fleet," the tankers that have carried oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela, [Reuters reported](https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/us-weighs-easing-sanctions-on-shadow-fleet-to-curb-shipping-costs--reuters-4950473). The goal is to lower freight rates that the report described as the highest on record. Under the proposal, companies could apply to the Treasury to use sanctioned ships to carry oil that Washington does not sanction, while Russian and Iranian crude itself would remain off limits. Energy Secretary Chris Wright [told the World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/u-weighs-easing-sanctions-shadow-043303884.html) by video that the administration was discussing the change. Russia's TASS news agency carried the same Reuters account.

The tanker proposal comes on top of a diesel arrangement that the White House presents as settled and Moscow describes as unfinished. President Trump wrote that Vladimir Putin had agreed to supply [more than 300,000 tons of diesel at once, 500,000 tons in November](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/09/politics/trump-putin-russian-diesel), and more afterward. [Africanews](http://www.africanews.com/2026/10/14/russia-says-diesel-supply-deal-with-us-under-negotiation-after-trump-putin-call/) reported that Russia says the deal remains under negotiation. The US Treasury has [issued a waiver](https://news.bgov.com/environment-and-energy/trump-says-putin-to-supply-us-with-diesel-ahead-of-midterms-3) for previously sanctioned Russian fuel.

Moscow is treating Washington and Western Europe differently. Russia's deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Galuzin, told [Kommersant](https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/9026867) that Russia currently has "nothing to talk about" with Britain, Germany and France over Ukraine, saying those countries try to deal with Russia through "ultimatum-style and pointless" sanctions.

Venezuela shows a similar pattern. On Wednesday the US Treasury [removed Jorge Rodríguez from its sanctions list](https://en.mercopress.com/2026/10/14/us-lifts-sanctions-on-jorge-rodriguez-president-of-venezuela-s-national-assembly?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=main&utm_campaign=rss). Rodríguez is president of Venezuela's National Assembly and brother of acting president Delcy Rodríguez. MercoPress noted that the Treasury gave no reason for the move.

## What this means

Washington is giving up some of the force of its sanctions regime in exchange for lower freight costs and fuel prices before the midterm elections. Russian refiners, tanker owners and the Venezuelan leadership gain market access or legitimacy. European governments that held to stricter measures are left on their own, as Galuzin's comments show. Markets had already expected some relief after the diesel announcement. What's new is that the ships themselves may be cleared, which would add tanker capacity quickly and push charter rates down. The common view treats each waiver as temporary, but the Iran sanctions waivers of 2018-19 show that temporary exemptions tend to get extended and widen enforcement gaps over time. Our forward read: if fuel prices stay politically sensitive through November, more Russian product is likely to move through formal channels within weeks, and future sanctions threats will carry less weight with traders. A Treasury decision that limits the program to a short list of vessels and continues to bar Russian-origin cargo would prove this wrong.

## What to watch

- Whether the Treasury publishes a formal licensing process for sanctioned tankers. A written license would make the policy difficult to reverse quickly.
- Actual diesel shipments from Russian ports bound for the US or Atlantic markets, which would show whether Putin's promise has turned into real supply.
- The European Union's response. A stricter EU line would split Western sanctions policy in a way buyers and shippers can exploit.