The first LNG vessel to transit the Panama Canal is headed to the Far East, two market sources said Wednesday.

The Shell-controlled vessel, the 161,870 cubic meter Maran Gas Apollonia, was previously expected to deliver into Latin America.

However, after entering the North Pacific Tuesday, the vessel is holding a bearing of 287 degrees, headed toward East Asia, according to cFlow, Platts' trade-flow software.

According to one trading source and another market source, the US-sourced cargo will be delivered to a terminal in the Far East.

The vessel loaded at the Cheniere-operated Sabine Pass liquefaction facility in the US Gulf Coast on July 19 and entered the Panama Canal at the Port of Colon on Monday.

This would be the first cargo from the US Gulf Coast to land in East Asia. Previous cargoes from Sabine Pass have been delivered to Europe, the Middle East, South America and South Asia, with the majority of cargoes going to South America.

Shell has annual offtake of 3.5 million mt from Sabine Pass Train 1.

Shell declined to comment on the matter.