ADM Orders Three New Oceangoing Vessels
Global transportation network expanding to handle increasing crop
shipments
Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE: ADM) today announced that it has
placed an order with Japan′s Sumitomo Corporation for the construction
of three new post-Panamax dry-bulk oceangoing vessels, which will
increase the size of ADM′s oceangoing fleet to 11 vessels. The
post-Panamax dry-bulk carriers will have a deadweight of approximately
95,000 metric tons each.
'Adding three new oceangoing vessels to our global transportation
network supports our strategy to increase the volume of crops we handle
and expand the geographic footprint of our operations worldwide,? said
Royce Wilken, an officer of ADM Transportation. 'It also provides
greater flexibility and control of our supply chain while improving our
transportation margins.?
To support the increasingly global nature of its business, ADM owns and
operates an expansive global transportation network, which currently
includes 700 trucks, 1,500 trailers, 26,100 railcars, 1,700 barges, 58
tug boats, 29 line boats and eight oceangoing vessels, that moves crops
from local elevators to processing plants and customers around the
world. ADM′s fleet of oceangoing vessels?ranging in size from Handy and
Handymax to Supramax and Panamax?serves as the backbone of ADM′s grain
transportation program.
ADM′s three new oceangoing vessels will be built with technology that
offers high performance while decreasing energy consumption to offer the
best available environmental footprint for shipping large quantities of
bulk commodities overseas.
Oshima Shipbuilding Company Ltd., a Japanese shipbuilding company
specializing in dry bulk carriers, has been selected to build the ships.
ClassNK, a Tokyo-based ship classification society, has provided project
advisory assistance and has been selected as the classification society.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. will provide green technology to help
the vessels achieve approximately a 25 percent reduction in carbon
dioxide emissions through superior hull form, propulsion systems and the
Mitsubishi Air Lubrication System (MALS) innovative technology which
reduces frictional resistance between the vessel hull and seawater using
air bubbles along the bottom of the vessels. Fleet Management Ltd. of
Hong Kong has provided project management.
About Post-Panamax Vessels
A major project is currently underway to double the capacity of the
Panama Canal by 2014 to allow more and larger ships to transit. The
project will widen the Canal and create a new lane of traffic by
constructing a new set of locks. Post-Panamax vessels are sized
appropriately to pass through these new locks.
About ADM
Every day, the 30,000 people of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:
ADM) turn crops into renewable products that meet the demands of a
growing world. At more than 265 processing plants, we convert corn,
oilseeds, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, chemical
and energy uses. We operate the world′s premier crop origination and
transportation network, connecting crops and markets in more than 75
countries. Our global headquarters is in Decatur, Illinois, and our net
sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, were $81 billion. For
more information about our company and our products, visit www.adm.com.
ADM
Media Relations, 217-424-5413
media@adm.com
