Mexican Cartel Built Fuel Empire With ‘Dark Fleet’ Tankers
23rd October 2025
On the afternoon of March 8, a petroleum tanker named Torm Agnes entered the Port of Ensenada on Mexico’s Pacific coast carrying almost 120,000 barrels of diesel.
Such a vessel was a rare sight in that port, which mainly hosts cruise liners, luxury yachts, and container ships. Ensenada lacks the infrastructure needed to unload cargos of flammable hydrocarbons safely – making what happened later that day odder still.
Waves of fuel-hauling trucks rolled up to the dock to cart away much of the Torm Agnes’ load. Workers scurried about filling the vehicles’ cavernous tanks, up to six at a time, using hoses springing from a larger hosepipe affixed to the vessel. The operation, while risky, ran like clockwork, according to an eyewitness and a photo and video from the scene shared with Reuters.