Matt Lagarde

Matt Lagarde has been a member of the inland navigation industry for more than 34 years and carries a Master of Towing Vessels upon Inland Waters and Western Rivers (Unlimited) license.  He has operated towing vessels throughout the inland waterways of the United States from 800 hp. to 8,000 hp.  He started as a deckhand and worked his way up to the wheelhouse positions before transitioning to shoreside roles, including port captain, operations manager and director of compliance.   He currently serves as the vice president for safety, training and compliance for Ingram Barge Company, one of the largest barge and towing suppliers in the United States.

Lagarde served two three-year terms as a committee member for the USCG Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC), which included serving as the chair for the Electronic Chart Task and co-chair on several other subcommittees.  He also served a three-year term on the newly formed National Towing Safety Advisory Committee (NTSAC), where he served as chair for the task on Towing Vessel Industry Outlook.

He has served as the president of the Maritime Navigation Safety Association in New Orleans for 14 years.  He is also currently serving as the chair of the AWO Interregion Safety Committee for three years and chair of the Greater New Orleans Port Safety Council Harbor Safety Committee for three years.  Lagarde has worked for the last several years closely with the industry and Coast Guard to help implement Subchapter M regulation throughout the industry and looks forward to helping improve safety and operating conditions for our nation’s mariners.

He was born and raised in the New Orleans area and resides on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  He has two sons, ages 26 and 15