Americas News
Company Takes "Opportune Window" to Buy Three Fuel-Efficient Refer Vessels
Dole Food Company Inc. (Dole) says it will buy three new, fuel-efficient specialty refrigerated container ships for its U.S. West Coast operations, replacing older vessels.
The ships, which will cost about $165 million in total, are scheduled for delivery between late 2015 and early 2016.
"Updating our West Coast shipping capabilities is very important strategically to the Company's competitive differentiation and future growth prospects," said C. Michael Carter, Dole's president and chief operating officer.
"These ships will be 27 years old at the time of replacement."
Carter said the new ships will have a capacity of 770 forty-foot equivalent units (FEU), compared with 491 FEU for the ships that will be replaced, and will be equipped with gantry cranes, as well as being more fuel efficient than their predecessors.
The company said it is indefinitely suspending a share repurchase program partly to divert money to the ship purchases.
"At this time we have decided to use our existing funding resources to take advantage of this opportune window in the shipping industry, when these specialty ships can be built at very competitive costs," said Carter.
Dole currently has 67 vessels in its fleet, according to its website.
