Savage takes delivery of tug barge Harvest

US shipbuilder Vigor has delivered Harvest, an ABS-classed articulated tug barge (ATB) to a subsidiary of Savage Companies.

Harvest is purpose-built to transport liquefied anhydrous ammonia – and is the first complex liquefied ammonia transport barge built in the US in 35 years.

Harvest will support the Jones Act trade of Tampa Port Services, a subsidiary of The Mosaic Company, the world’s leading producer and marketer of concentrated phosphate and potash.

The ATB will be operated by a subsidiary of Savage Companies, carrying up to 22,000 tonnes of anhydrous ammonia (NH3), a key ingredient in phosphate-based fertilizer.

“The delivery of this ATB represents a landmark achievement for all of the project stakeholders as well as the US shipbuilding industry,” says ABS Americas division president Jamie Smith.

ABS also classed the connecting tug, Abundance, constructed and delivered by Washington-based Nichols Brothers Boat Builders. The US class society launched its Global Gas Solutions team in 2013 to support industry in developing gas-related projects.

The ABS Global Gas Solutions team provides industry leadership, offering guidance in liquefied natural gas floating structures and systems, gas fuel systems and equipment, gas carriers, and regulatory and statutory requirements.