The vessel delivered 497 containers packed with car parts, plastic film and steel to the Arkhangelsk Region along the Northern Sea Route. All these shipments will now go to Russian manufacturers, the regional government said in a statement.

Early next week, the same ship will depart for China with a cargo of exported timber products on board.

“We expect products made by businesses in the Arkhangelsk Region to be delivered to their destination port in slightly over three weeks,” Governor of the Arkhangelsk Region Alexander Tsybulsky wrote in a social media post.

Carried out in cooperation with Russia’s Chinese partners, the project aims to use the Northern Sea Route for linking major Russian cities with the Chinese ports.