A tanker under US sanctions has moved from the Arctic LNG 2 plant east along Russia's Northern Sea Route, data from LSEG and market sources showed.
The Northern Sea Route, which Moscow wants to turn into a new Suez Canal, is challenging for ships due to thick ice in winter, and navigation is restricted to warmer months.
According to shipping data, the tanker Universal was loaded with about 44,000 tonnes of gas condensate at the Arctic LNG 2 site on September 2 and moved along the Northern Sea Route to carry out ship-to-ship transfers near the Russian Far East port of Zarubino.
The cargo's final destination is not yet known.
The Arctic LNG 2 project, which is subject to Western sanctions over Russia's conflict with Ukraine, had been set to become one of Russia's largest LNG plants with eventual output of 19.8 million tonnes per year and up to 1.6 million tonnes of gas condensate.
The current production volumes of gas condensate on the Arctic LNG 2 project are unclear.
Last year, a record volume of nearly 38 million tonnes of goods, including oil and liquefied natural gas, was shipped along the NSR, according to the state-controlled Rosatom.
(Reporting by Reuters. Editing by Barbara Lewis)