Everest Energy, a sanctioned Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel, is heading to a as-yet-unfinished gas facility in northern Russia to pick up what will be the fourth cargo of LNG to be loaded from the terminal.

The vessel was placed under sanctions earlier this year, and the entire Arctic LNG 2 facility was reportedly placed under US sanctions last year.

Multiple media outlets have reported both the movement of the vessel and the placement of gas by Novatek onto a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility is an attempt to circumnavigate the sanction.

The Arctic LNG 2 project is 60% owned by Novatek and is set to eventually become Russia's largest LNG plant.

The wide-ranging US sanctions on Russia have seemingly dissuaded many buyers that were considering making purchases from the facility.

The expansion of the project has been delayed until 2028, as the sanctions continue to bite.

Over the past year, Russia has been developing a so-called 'shadow fleet' of oil and gas cargo vessels to move and sell its hydrocarbons, even while under sanctions.

On Thursday, the US imposed further sanctions on two companies linked to Russia's new LNG project, with Gotik Energy Shipping and Plio Energy Cargo Shipping now under restrictions.