---

Finland's Containerhips plc says it has been granted funding of almost EUR 17 million from the European Union to implement its strategy of using liquefied natural gas (LNG) throughout its logistics chain.

Currently, China's Wenchong shipyard is constructing four LNG-powered cargo ships for the company. The keel-laying ceremony for the first LNG-fuelled ship and the steel-cutting ceremony for the second ship are scheduled to take place on April 7, 2017, in Guangzhou.

Supporting the Finnish firm's LNG strategy is the European Union with EUR 16.9 million in funding. EUR 10.7 million is earmarked for shipping, while EUR 6.2 million will be used to build a European LNG terminal network in cooperation with other project partners.

The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO), meanwhile, has decided to invest EUR 5 million to support the company's environmental strategy.

"The European Union and NEFCO are making a significant contribution to the construction of the first environmentally friendly supply chain in Europe," said Kari-Pekka Laaksonen, CEO of Containererships plc.

"The feedback from our customers indicates that in the future, more and more large companies want to switch to emission-free supply chains as far as possible. For us, environmental protection makes sense from an economic point of view and through the improvements we can ensure that our customers get their money's worth," Laaksonen added.