INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business
INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business
INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business
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INNOVATOR<br />
A-Y2K Marine Survey<br />
Key innovation: surveyor of marine vessels and oyster<br />
boats for safety<br />
Biggest client: U.S. Department of Agriculture<br />
Where they’re based: <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong><br />
Top executive: Willie Tuggle, owner and operator<br />
Year introduced: 2000<br />
PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI<br />
ATTEMPTING TO MANEUVER large waterways in any<br />
sort of sea vessel can be a tremendous undertaking. The<br />
slightest chink in the armor has the potential to endanger<br />
not just the cargo being carried but also the lives of the<br />
crew manning the boat.<br />
Willie Tuggle, owner and operator of A-Y2K Marine<br />
Survey of <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong>, is one of the few people in the<br />
Crescent <strong>City</strong> responsible for ensuring the safety of these<br />
large watercrafts.<br />
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service<br />
Agency chose A-Y2K Marine in February to survey oyster<br />
boats, signaling the first time the USDA has chosen a<br />
marine surveyor to take on this task.<br />
“It says a lot for our experience and our quality,”<br />
Tuggle said. “I feel blessed every day.”<br />
A veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, Tuggle said he<br />
understands what to look for when inspecting ships for<br />
water travel. He uses that expertise daily.<br />
“The Coast Guard needs help, they can’t catch everything,”<br />
Tuggle said. “That is where A-Y2K comes in. We<br />
look at every aspect of a vessel from the top down. Even<br />
the crew gets a once over to make sure they are capable of<br />
manning the ship.”<br />
Tuggle said he is only the third Coast Guard veteran to<br />
go through the Chapman School of Seamanship’s Marine<br />
Surveyor Class, the premier school for the work he performs.<br />
Tuggle said a basic definition of marine survey is<br />
checking the condition of any mobile unit on the water<br />
for value and safety.<br />
“We look for stress fractures, malfunctioning parts or<br />
anything that could pose a threat to environmental or<br />
personal safety,” Tuggle said. “Each inspection produces<br />
specific findings and based on those findings, we determine<br />
if a ship is in good shape or needs work. We can<br />
come back with a ruling that says the vessel needs a little<br />
attention, but we can also say that a craft can be shut<br />
down until immediate improvements are made.”<br />
Tuggle said A-Y2K is staying local at this time, but<br />
there are plans to take the company nationwide.<br />
“There are opportunities everywhere to inspect the<br />
safety of vessels, and I’d like to be the one inspecting<br />
them,” Tuggle said.•<br />
— Robin Shannon<br />
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency selected Willie Tuggle’s A-Y2K Marine Survey in February to inspect oyster boats<br />
for safety.<br />
10A 2008 Innovator of the Year