A tanker was cleared to unload its cargo after US customs checks confirmed it was not carrying Russian oil and busting sanctions.

The 115,700-dwt Daytona (built 2011) was chartered by commodity trading giant Vitol and sailed from Russia’s Taman peninsula in the Black Sea in early June.

The terminal transports both Kazakh and Russian oil and Vitol had informed US officials that it was not breaching any embargo before it arrived off Louisiana last week. The Wall Street Journal reported it was stopped by US authorities while carrying fuel oil and vacuum gasoil.

The tanker, part of the TMS Tankers’ fleet, is understood to have been stopped for routine customs checks before being allowed to unload. The trading house said on Monday that “Vitol operates its business in full compliance with all applicable sanctions”.

The US banned oil, gas and coal imports from Russia in May after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. The European Union is imposing an import ban on Russian oil that comes by sea but has delayed the measure until the end of the year.