INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business

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