Russia ships surplus diesel to storage in Singapore, Africa

MOSCOW/SINGAPORE, July 15 (Reuters): Russia has sent ultra-low sulphur diesel from its ports for storage in the regional hub of Singapore and in West Africa, traders and shipping data show, as ample supply has slowed demand.

Since the full EU embargo on importing Russian oil products took effect in February 2023, Russia has diverted its diesel exports from Europe to Brazil, Turkey, and various parts of Africa and Asia.

According to shipping data from Vortexa and Kpler, the Aether loaded about 100,000 metric tons of diesel in May in the Russian Baltic port of Primorsk and reached Singapore last week, where it is discharging at the Universal terminal.

Two other vessels - the Advantage Portofino and the Minerva Aries - were loaded in June in the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Saint Petersburg with 167,000-169,000 tons of diesel in total. They are heading to Singapore or Malaysia.

The Advantage Portofino chose the long route around Africa instead of the Suez Canal, LSEG data shows.

Another vessel - the Advantage Life loaded about 93,000 tons of diesel in Primorsk in July, and is also bound for Singapore, the data showed.

Singapore is the oil products storage hub for southeast Asia and the volumes from Russia would probably be distributed throughout the region following a lack of demand in some markets west of Suez, traders said.