Archer Daniels Midland Company 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 an 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 ADM
Every day, the 30,000 people of Archer Daniels Midland Company turn crops into renewable products that meet the demands of a growing world. At more than 265 processing plants, ADM convert corn, oilseeds, wheat and cocoa into products for food, animal feed, chemical and energy uses. ADM operate the world’s premier crop origination and transportation network, connecting crops and markets in more than 75 countries. Company’s headquarters is in Decatur, Illinois, and our net sales for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, were $81 billion.
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.
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