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American Commercial Lines Inc. (ACL) has today used an environmental awards ceremony to stress that barging is the safest and most environmentally friendly and fuel-efficient mode of transportation.

Speaking on the day of its annual Marine Environmental Stewardship Awards, held at a luncheon ceremony on Wednesday, September 29 in Houston, Mike Ryan, President and CEO of ACL, stated: "I am honored to recognize our customers for their significant achievements in marine environmental stewardship. We thank them for sharing our commitment. By shipping on the inland waterways, they have chosen to utilize the safest, greenest, and most fuel efficient mode of transportation. We are proud to serve them as we work together to protect the environment and keep our country on the move."

Referring to a 2008 study by the Texas Transportation Institute, ACL said that barging was the safest and most environmentally friendly mode of transportation as the report found that the rate of spills was 3.60 gallons per million ton-miles for barges compared to 3.86 gallons per million ton-miles for railroads and 6.06 gallons per million ton-miles for trucks.

The study also documents that inland barge transportation emits fewer air pollutants, including hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides, than railroads or trucks.

Commenting on the fuel efficiency of barges, ACL said "Barging is also noted by the study as the most fuel-efficient mode of transportation with the ability to move one ton of cargo 576 miles per gallon of fuel, 163 miles further than railroads and 421 miles further than trucks."

The customers recognized by ACL at the awards ceremony for safely handling more than one billion gallons of chemicals with the company in 2009 and for sharing the company's commitment to safety and environmental stewardship are: BASF Corporation; Bayer MaterialScience LLC; Bunge North America; CITGO Petroleum Corporation; E.I. Dupont De Nemours & Company Inc.; Eastman Chemical Company; ED&F Man Liquid Products Corporation; Formosa Plastics; Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc.; INEOS NOVA LLC; Marathon Petroleum Company, LLC; Methanex Corporation; Murphy Oil USA; Old World Industries, Inc.; Olin Chemical; PPG Industries, Inc.; Quality Liquid Feeds; SABIC Innovative Plastics; Shell Chemical LP; STUSCO - Shell Trading US Company; Tauber Oil Company; Vitol Inc.; and Westlake Chemical.