Ashland's Drew Marine to Supply Carnival Cruise Lines

Carnival Cruise Lines has renewed a multi-year contract for Drew Marine products and services announced Ashland Specialty Chemical Company. The contract amount was not disclosed. The contract renewal, for marine technical service and chemical supply, will enable Carnival Cruise Lines to cut costs by allowing Drew Marine to better manage Carnival's marine technical chemical needs. As Carnival's chemical inventory supplier, Drew Marine will be responsible for supply and inventory management of specialty chemicals. This is designed to reduce 'emergency requests' for chemicals, rapidly identify chemical consumption anomalies, and eliminate unnecessarily high inventories of chemicals onboard Carnival ships. "Electronic data interchange with Carnival's internal supply chain will allow Carnival to reduce its chemical inventory and track supply orders easily," says Ron Ieva, Americas regional sales manager at Drew Marine. "Additionally, Carnival employees will better be able to obtain technical service reports, keep electronic logs of ship performance, and view historical product consumption." Drew Marine will also provide focused training programs to Carnival employees. Advanced chemical management training programs, geared toward officers, will cover use, storage, handling and disposal issues, and will focus on preserving the marine environment and minimizing environmental impact and waste. Technical training programs will provide ongoing training and documented record keeping, focusing on chemicals, equipment and operating procedures, helping to improve Carnival's onboard processes, reducing costs, and minimizing waste.