Commercial Barge Line Company Completes Private Placement of Senior Secured Notes...

Commercial Barge Line Company Completes Private Placement of Senior Secured
Notes and New Asset-based Lending Facility

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind., July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Commercial Barge Line
Company ("CBLC"), a direct wholly owned subsidiary of American Commercial
Lines Inc. (Nasdaq: ACLI) ("ACL"), announced today that CBLC completed the
previously announced private placement of $200 million senior secured second
lien notes due in 2017 (the "Notes"). The Notes will be guaranteed by ACL and
by certain of CBLC's existing and future domestic subsidiaries.

The Notes have an interest rate of 12-1/2% and were sold at 95.181% of the
aggregate principal amount, for gross proceeds of approximately $190 million,
representing a yield to maturity of 13.50%. The Notes were issued and sold to
qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and outside the United States
pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act.

In connection with the issuance of the Notes, CBLC entered into a four-year
senior secured first lien asset-based revolving credit facility (the "Credit
Facility"), which provides for senior secured financing of up to $390 million,
subject to the borrowing base and other specified terms and conditions. The
proceeds from the Notes offering, together with borrowings under the Credit
Facility, are being used by the Company to repay its existing credit facility,
to pay certain related transaction costs and expenses and for general
corporate purposes.

The Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act and may not be
offered or sold in the United States without registration or an applicable
exemption from registration requirements of the Securities Act. This press
release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer
to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, the notes in any jurisdiction in which
such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or
qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

American Commercial Lines Inc., headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, is
an integrated marine transportation and service company operating in the
United States Jones Act trades, with approximately $1.2 billion in revenues
and approximately 3,400 employees as of December 31, 2008. For more
information about American Commercial Lines Inc. visit www.aclines.com.

SOURCE American Commercial Lines Inc.

Kim Durbin, Manager Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, American
Commercial Lines, +1-812-288-1915, kim.durbin@aclines.com