(Recasts, adds details, share movement)

April 8 (Reuters) - Marine transportation and services company American Commercial Lines Inc (ACLI.O: Quote, Profile, Research) forecast first-quarter earnings below market estimates, partly due to higher fuel prices, sending its shares down 7 percent.

The company also cited weather-related delays on the waterway and at the shipyard and said a weak U.S. dollar has led to reduced commodity imports.

American Commercial said it expects net income for the first quarter to be in the low single-digit cents per share.

Analysts were expecting earnings of 12 cents a share, before items, according to Reuters estimates.

"Historically, the first quarter of each year tends to be the most volatile," Chief Executive Officer Michael Ryan said in a statement.

The company said Chief Operating Officer Jerry Linzey resigned effective immediately.

Norb Whitlock will assume the role of executive vice president, operations until a new COO has been selected, the company said.

Whitlock, who has been with the company since 1979, has held several senior level positions, including COO, it added.

Shares of the company fell to $14.80 in trading after the bell, after closing at $15.95 Tuesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Abhishek Chanda in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)