By reducing its dependence on fuel from Russia, Croatia will receive the first liquefied natural gas cargo in the United States at its new import terminal.

The LNG vessel Tristar Ruby, which loaded at the Cove Point plant in Maryland, is headed for Croatia’s terminal on the Adriatic island of Krk, according to ship-tracking data on Bloomberg. The ship is scheduled to arrive on Jan. 1, the expected start date of the terminal.

Hrvoje Krhen, managing director of LNG Croatia LLC, confirmed that Trister Ruby will deliver the first cargo to the new terminal and arrive on 1 January.

A commissioning cargo arrived at the LNG Croatia FSRE desk on the floating storage and reorganization ship on December 1 from Saganto, Spain. The ship is there and will be used as an import facility, a fast and cheap way to enter the LNG business as part of the trend of using floating solutions towards countries.

Fred Hutchison, president of Washington-based trade group LNG Allies, said the import terminal was not expected as a result of long-term agreements with U.S. exporters, but would be a destination for spot cargoes, said Fred Hutchison, president of Washington-based trade group LNG Allies.

“The new terminal in Croatia, combined with Lithuania and Poland, has created a new anchor point in a new north-south corridor that brings diversity and competition for gas in Central and Eastern Europe,” he said.