ACL Announces Approval of Training Program

American Commercial Lines Inc. (ACL) has received United States Coast Guard approval of the nation’s first inland river accelerated pilot license training program in partnership with Northeast Maritime Institute of Fairhaven, Mass. On November 15, 2007 the United States Coast Guard approved a new Mate (Pilot) training program. This program can shorten the total time of license eligibility for Mate (the second and final stage in the licensing process of a professional mariner) by approximately 50%. The program includes classroom, simulator and sea time. The end result will be that a person who is new to the industry can achieve the rank of Full Mate in approximately 30-36 months, as opposed to the current five to six year licensing period.