Led byRADM Jonathan P. Hickey, U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes District includes 6,000 active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel.[2] Great Lakes District predominantly serves duties such as search and rescue, maritime safety and security, environmental protection, maritime law enforcement, aids to navigation, and icebreaking.[3]
One major role for the Coast Guard in the Great Lakes region is to perform ice-breaking duties to enable shipping to have free mobility throughout the region. One of the major ports to be kept operational isDuluth, Minnesota.[4]
Another major role is maintenance of navigational buoys. As of October 2021, the Coast Guard began implementing plans to replace all existing metal buoys with new high-tech foam buoys, which would not need to be serviced or removed annually.[5]
In October 2021, the National Center of Expertise for the Great Lakes was formally inaugurated as a new operational unit within the U.S. Coast Guard. Amongst its duties are to perform scientific research on oil spills that occur in freshwater.[6] U.S. SenatorGary Peters of Michigan said that Senate hearings had revealed that the Coast Guard was largely unprepared for handling oil spills in that region, and also that there was little scientific knowledge about how to clean up oil spills in freshwater; this was one major reason for creating this new research center.[6] The Center was set up as a joint project between the Coast Guard and theLake Superior State University inSault Ste. Marie, which would also host the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor. The center would also be managed by the NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.[7] The legislation to establish this center was enacted in 2018.[8]
The history of Coast Guard operations in the Great Lakes region began with the operational activity by one of the predecessor agencies to the Coast Guard, theU.S. Revenue Cutter Service. This organization's service in the region began around the 1820s. when its role included stopping smugglers, and assisting boaters in distress.[9] Another predecessor agency, theU.S. Lighthouse Service is believed to have begun operations in the region around 1816; by the 1860s, the number of lightships active in the region was 72 ships. TheU.S. Life-Saving Service, another predecessor agency, began operations in the region in 1854, after a major storm sparked official efforts to increase the personnel and active units available for lifesaving services.
The fourth of the predecessor agencies was the U.S.Steamboat Inspection Service. Relatively little historical documentation exists for this agency; however by 1911, it was filling an important role in the region, inspecting steamships for faulty equipment and machinery that might pose any threat to safety of steam vessels.[9]
In 1915, the U.S. Lifesaving Service and the Revenue Cutter Service were merged to form the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1920, the enactment ofProhibition gave the Coast Guard a new role in halting smugglers of alcohol who tried to travel from Canada to the United States with illegal alcoholic beverages.[9]
Air Facility Muskegon is a detachment ofAir Station Detroit. The air facility operates during the summer months to support the southwest portion ofLake Michigan. The air facility is staffed by two four-person aircrews operating aMH-65D Dolphin Helicopter.[63]
Air Facility Waukegan, previously known as Air Station Chicago, now operates inWaukegan, Illinois at the Waukegan Regional Airport. The air facility operates from Memorial Day through Labor Day to increase search and rescue capabilities and improve response times in Southern Lake Michigan. The air facility is staffed by two four-person aircrews operating aMH-65D Dolphin Helicopter.[63]
U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes has ten activecutters operating in all fiveGreat Lakes.[66] Cutter is a term used by the U.S. Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. They are 65 feet (19.8 m) or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accommodations aboard. They carry the ship prefix USCGC.[67]
Due to the requirement ofRush–Bagot Treaty, the cutters assigned to the Great Lakes are minimally armed, save for a few machine guns.[68]
USCGC Spar (WLB-206) is a 225-foot multi-mission cutter located inDuluth, Minnesota after switching home ports with her sister ship,USCGC Alder (WLB-216). Its primary missions are to aid in navigation, ice breaking, law enforcement, and search and rescue. In addition,Spar performs missions such as marine environmental protection and port security.Spar operates on all fiveGreat Lakes, however, most of its operations are inLake Superior andLake Michigan.[69]
USCGC Bristol Bay (WTGB-102) is a 140-foot icebreaking tug stationed inDetroit, Michigan. Its primary responsibility is opening and maintaining icebound shipping lanes in theGreat Lakes. In addition,Bristol Bay performs missions such as search and rescue, marine environmental protection, law enforcement, and port security and safety. U.S. Coast Guard engineers designedBristol Bay.[71]
USCGCBuckthorn
USCGCBuckthorn (WLI-642) is a 100-foot inland buoy tender stationed inSault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Its primary missions are aids-to-navigation within the Sault Ste Marie's River System, homeland security, and public affairs.Buckthorn's area of responsibility expands fromWhitefish Point, Michigan thru Sault Ste Marie's River.Buckthorn is the oldest cutter in theGreat Lakes.[72]
USCGC Katmai Bay (WTGB-101) is a 140-foot Bay-class icebreaking tug stationed inSault Sainte Marie, Michigan. Its primary missions include icebreaking, homeland security patrols, lighthouse projects, law enforcement, and public affairs.Katmai Bay operates within allGreat Lakes.[74]
USCGCMackinaw
USCGC Mackinaw (WLBB-30) is a 240-foot vessel stationed inCheboygan, Michigan. It is the only U.S. Coast Guard cutter in theGreat Lakes designed for heavy icebreaking and specifically used for multi-mission capabilities, such as environmental response, homeland security, and search and rescue.Mackinaw contains state of the art technology such as its ability to deploy an oil skimming system to respond to oil spill incidents.[75]
USCGC Morro Bay (WTGB-106) is a 140-foot Bay-class icebreaking tug stationed inCleveland, Ohio. Its primary missions include icebreaking, homeland security patrols, lighthouse projects, law enforcement, and public affairs.Morro Bay operates within allGreat Lakes and has coined the nickname, "Jack of all trades".[77]
USCGC Neah Bay (WTGB-105) is a 140-foot Bay-class icebreaking tug stationed inCleveland, Ohio. Its primary missions include icebreaking, homeland security patrols, light house projects, law enforcement, and public affairs.Neah Bay operates broadly within allGreat Lakes.[78]
U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes comprises four Marine Safety Units (MSU) and two Marine Safety Detachments (MSD).
U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes Marine Safety Units and Detachments Map
MSU Chicago is inWillowbrook, Illinois; 40 minutes fromdowntown Chicago, Illinois, its primary responsibilities are Port Safety and Security, Marine Environmental Protection, and Commercial Vessel Safety. These missions serve to ensure safe, secure, and environment safety within SouthernLake Michigan, Chicago Area Waterway System and theIllinois River Watershed. Specifically, MSU Chicago's area of operation isLake Michigan shorelines ofIllinois andIndiana, as well as 186 miles of theIllinois River System comprised 7 locks and approximately 250 bridges. In addition, MSU Chicago's responsibilities include a fleet of 166 vessels and 118 regulated waterfront facilities.[79]
U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes airboat crews deploy forHurricane Sandy
MSU Cleveland is located alongLake Erie indowntown Cleveland, Ohio. MSU Cleveland's primary missions include Maritime Safety and Security, Environmental Response, Commercial Vessel and Facility Inspections and Marine Casualty Investigations. Its area of responsibility extends from theOhio-Pennsylvania border toVermilion, Ohio.[80]
MSU Toledo is located alongLake Erie indowntown Toledo, Ohio. MSU Toledo's primary responsibilities are Port Safety and Security, Marine Environmental Protection, and Commercial Vessel Safety. These missions serve to ensure safe, secure, and environmental safety in its area of responsibility that is contained in theLake Erie waters fromMonroe, Michigan toHuron, Ohio.[82]
MSD Massena's strategic location inMassena, New York allows for the detachment to effectively enforce U.S. laws, regulations, and treaties intended to limit non-indigenous species to theGreat Lakes from vessels entering theGreat Lakes. In addition, MSD Massena's operations include ensuring that vessels entering theGreat Lakes do not pose any security, safety, or environmental hazards. The detachment is strategically located in theGreat Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, both the Snell andEisenhower Locks are in close proximity. MSD Massena is a detachment of Sector Buffalo and works directly with the Prevention Department.[83]
MSD Sturgeon Bay is located inSturgeon Bay, Wisconsin onLake Michigan. The detachment is a multi-mission unit responsible for Port Safety and Security, Marine Environmental Protection, and Commercial Vessel Safety. MSD Sturgeon Bay is a detachment of Sector Lake Michigan working directly with the Prevention Department.[84]
U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes comprises seven Aids to Navigation Teams (ANT).
U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes Aids to Navigation Teams Map
ANT Buffalo is located inBuffalo, New York and services the buoys, lighthouses, and markers in Sector Buffalo area of responsibility.[85]
ANT Detroit is located inDetroit, Michigan and operates on the South Western end ofLake Erie through theDetroit River, to includeLake St. Clair. It is responsible for approximately 30 Aids to Navigation and secondary for 310 Aids to Navigation.[86]
ANT Saginaw River is located inEssexville, Michigan and services the buoys, lighthouses, and markers in the northern part of Sector Detroit's area.[87]
^Coast Guard ready for ice breaking on Lake Superior. Duluth's Alder will join the operation next week, when ice is expected to thicken and spread as overnight lows are predicted to get frigid.Written By: Brady Slater | 3:00 pm, Dec. 23, 2020.
