Russia’s seaborne diesel and gasoil exports declined by about 3% in March compared with February, falling to roughly 3.06 million metric tons, according to market sources and LSEG shipping data.
The drop came as repeated Ukrainian drone attacks disrupted fuel loading operations at key Baltic export terminals during the month.
Shipments of ultra-low-sulphur diesel from Primorsk, Russia’s largest diesel export hub on the Baltic Sea, dropped 2.6% month-on-month to around 1.713 million tons.
Operations at the Baltic ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga were temporarily halted on March 22 after drone strikes, while another attack a day later triggered a fire at a storage facility in Primorsk.
Although crude and diesel loading resumed on March 26, infrastructure damage forced ports to operate below normal capacity, market sources said.
Export flows were also affected by a restriction preventing non-ice-class tankers from entering Russian Baltic ports during the period.
Diesel shipments from the southern Black Sea port of Novorossiysk fell about 16% in March, weighed down by storms and additional drone threats.
Turkey and Brazil remained the largest buyers of Russian diesel and gasoil cargoes, though about 353,000 tons of fuel shipped last month has yet to declare a final discharge destination.
Another 620,000 tons of Russian diesel is currently on vessels anchored near Port Said in Egypt and Limassol in Cyprus, according to shipping data.
Traders said ship-to-ship transfers increased as Western sanctions tightened and tanker availability declined, with Morocco, Ghana and Syria also emerging among notable importers of Russian diesel cargoes.