UK and EU Gasoline Is Reaching Russia Through a Moroccan Blending Hub

Ukraine's sustained attacks on Russian refining facilities have led to Russia importing gasoline and diesel at unprecedented levels. According to analysis from Windward, using shipping and trade data, Russia imported approximately 3.85 million barrels of fuel between July and August 2026, with gasoline and blending components accounting for 3.1 million barrels. The origin of some of this fuel is believed to be from the UK and EU, transported to Russia via blending and storage facilities in Morocco.

At Tanger Med port in Morocco, a major tank storage facility, Windward's analysis revealed a continuous flow of EU and UK gasoline, totaling about 1.0 million barrels received between January and August 2026. The same amount of gasoline was shipped to Russia from June to July 2026, with an additional 500,000 barrels currently en route. Notably, no other country outside the EU and UK provided finished gasoline to the terminal during this period, and the last export to Spain occurred in May 2026.

This marks the first time such shipments have been recorded by Vortexa's data, dating back to 2016. Notably, the same facility previously saw Russian diesel re-exported to European Mediterranean ports as "Moroccan" product from 2023 to 2025. South Korea also sent a record 780,000 barrels of diesel and gasoline to Russia's eastern ports during July and August, largely via ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in third-country waters and using vessels from various countries, including Russia, Hong Kong, Barbados, and Togo. This surge in South Korean volumes is likely to draw attention from EU and UK governments.