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LAUNCHING A MARITIME LEGACY
MILLER’S LAUNCH I PROFILE 2 Miller’s Launch
As the self-proclaimed ‘Swiss Army Knife of the Atlantic Ocean’, Miller’s Launch offers its clients a spcialised toolbox of maritime support services tailored to meet any and every need at sea. From its base in New York Harbour, the company operates an impressive catalogue of floating assets ready to go at a moment’s notice, no matter the time of the day or night.
he owners of family-run Miller’s Launch are part of a long lineage of seafarers with a deep connection to the sea. The daily scheduling unpre dictability and the adventure of tackling the challenges of nature and winning, are second nature to them. “We all have some saltwater in our blood here,” commented Nick Miller, Vice president at Miller’s Launch. “You have to like the adventure of working here. It’s a lifestyle. Schedules change at a moment’s notice, and you have to deal with nature. It’s not like making widgets in a factory.”
Vice President Nick Miller spoke to Richard Hagan about his family’s company’s illustrious service record across the US East Coast.
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The answer is yes Miller’s Launch has established a formidable reputation for being not only willing but also able to tackle any challenge, anywhere on the“Ourwater.main ideology of the business is that we like to say yes to interesting marine problems and then come up with creative solutions to them,” Mr Miller explained. With a portfolio of around 70 pieces of equipment on the water, maintained and operated by a roster of 100 staff across all of its divisions, Miller’s Launch has the machinery, manpower and capacity to tackle any customer’s challenge. And as Mr Miller revealed, those challenges are“Wemany.provide marine support to various operations, including everything from offshore wind, to emergency and oil spill response and film industry needs, as well as construction barges, towing, offshore marine research, and lightering. You name it, we’ve probably touched it at some point in our history.”
All of these services have developed from the company’s original ‘bread and butter’ offering of providing launch services to visiting commercial vessels. These include crew transfers, provisioning and other ser vices, all of which continue to form a core part of the company’s portfolio. In fact, not only are they still running, but the
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A unique armada The company’s main facility is its head quarters located in New York Harbor in New York City, where it is sandwiched between the Navy Pier and the famous St George Ferry. Most of its operations take place at and from this location. Its second facility is located on Staten Island, where it enjoys a three-acre plot with water access. From there, Miller’s Launch mainly operates its offshore wind buoy division. A little-known aspect of Miller’s Launch is its ownership of a franchise of the famed TowBoatUS company. That facility is located in Atlantic Highlands in New Jersey, from which all of its towboat operations are run. Staying in New Jersey, the company also owns a business that primarily provides booming operations for the oil industry and oil-related emergencies. “We are one-hour responders for oil pol lution incidents,” Mr Miller revealed. “We open and close booms during oil transfers at terminals. From there, we provide ser vices across New York and New Jersey for both government and private entities.”
The company’s experienced crew operate a fleet of vessels that include five tugs, a fleet of harbour launches, and large
MILLER’S LAUNCH I PROFILE 6 Miller’s Launch company’s launch services vessels are the busiest in its fleet. “The launch side of the business runs 24/7, 365 days a year all the time for the past 40 years,” said Mr Miller. “Except for once when we had to shut down for a few hours in the middle of Hurricane Sandy.”
The breadth and variety of Miller’s Launch’s operations are unique for the“Weregion.really have a niche business here in New York that not a lot of other people can provide. We have a reputation in New York Harbor and amongst our vendors that if someone has a unique problem that nobody can solve, the solution is to go call Miller’s – they’ll figure it out,” he said with a chuckle. While the company’s material assets are important, its crews are more so, Mr Miller “Anybodyhighlighted.intheworld can go out and buy a vessel, but I want to help my cus tomers accomplish whatever they’re trying to do. Whether that’s building a school on Roosevelt Island or an offshore wind farm, I have a responsibility to provide not only the correct vessel but also the best captains, deckhands and fabricators who eat and breathe this lifestyle. One whole half of my business revolves around how good my captain is and how well he knows the local area.”
offshore support vessels featuring spe cialised equipment including A-Frames.
A gadget for every future occasion Ultimately, Miller’s Launch is client-focused and passionate about finding solutions. The staff have even invented a tongue-in-cheek word to describe their skill in developing creative solutions: “We’re always inter ested in building the next ‘gizoroni’ for the next job,” said Mr Miller with a hearty chuckle. “Our passion is helping people solve“Whetherproblems.it’s building whatever package t he client needs, or whether it’s an A-Frame or a crane for deploying an offshore buoy, we have a boat for that. And most of all, our local knowledge really sets us apart from the competition.”
With a world-class schedule of constant maintenance and reinvestment, Miller’s Launch is looking forward to an actionpacked future. Whether it’s in New York Harbor ferrying crew or supplies to a ship, or supporting the installation of wind turbines dozens of miles offshore, Miller’s Launch has a boat, a crew, and the resources to tackle any challenge. n
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Miller’s Launch has an existing résumé of offshore wind projects and naturally, it is leveraging its experience, talent and equipment in this field to ensure the com pany benefits from the large planned pro jects in its operational area. While he will certainly be looking for appointments in the various construc tion and maintenance phases, Mr Miller revealed the company will also be seeking appointments for PSO (protected species observer) services. “For the permitting phases, you must have people who are trained to sit offshore and ensure that there are no endangered species of marine life that will be affected by the work that is underway.” In this sce nario, the company would provide the vessels and other platforms required for the PSO work to be undertaken. “The people who are in offshore wind services should really talk to us,” Mr Miller added. “We’ve surprised a lot of people with our portfolio of work and the capacities we have to offer. We’re Jones Act com pliant. We’ve got dynamically-positioned vessels with A-Frames right here in New York Harbor.”
The local knowledge of Miller’s Launch’s seafarers, added to its reputation for cre ativity and flexibility, is set to propel the company’s fortunes for years to come as it prepares to meet the demands of the surging offshore wind power sector.
Mr Miller added: “I have a 30-tonne A-Frame capable of doing a variety of different work, ranging from surveys and research to construction and maintenance work. That really sets us apart.”
With multiple large wind farm installa tions already approved for imminent con struction off the US’ north east coast, Miller’s Launch anticipates surging demand for its specialist wind farm ser vices for which it has long been revered within the industry. “The government and developers are looking to push local content for these projects, but there’s not a lot of knowl edge, experience and people here in the north east who can undertake that kind of work,” Mr Miller highlighted. “We are on the ground floor of an industry that in my lifetime is only just beginning to take off. The north east coast is really posi tioned to provide some of the best locations on earth for offshore wind farms. Our local knowledge means that we will be involved in projects from the pre-installation phase where we’ve already made a name for ourselves, all the way up through the con struction phase to the maintenance and operations phase, and eventually to the tearing down phase. I see a bright future.”
Local knowledge powering offshore construction
