<p>Dole Food Company has announced that it will acquire three new specialty built refrigerated container ships for its U.S. West Coast operations, for an estimated $165 million. Ships are expected to be delivered in the late 2015 to early 2016 time frame.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">“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.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><img src="https://cdn.andnowuknow.com/legacyWriterImages/dole052813ban.jpg" alt="images 052813" /></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p> “These ships will be 27 years old at the time of replacement. The new ships will be more fuel efficient and will be built to Dole’s exacting specifications and design, with a 770 FEU capacity (compared to the replaced ships with 491 FEU) and equipped with gantry cranes.” </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.dole.com/" target="_new">Dole</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
