U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes District (formerly District 9) is a United States Coast Guard district, based at the Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, in Cleveland, Ohio. U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes is responsible for all Coast Guard operations on the five Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and surrounding states accumulating 6,700 miles of shoreline and 1,500 miles of international shoreline with Canada.
Command and Duties Led by RADM Jonathan P. Hickey, U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes District includes 6,000 active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel. 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.
Operations 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 is Duluth, Minnesota. 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.
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. Bringing out the buoys, By Peter J. Wasson Ashland Daily Press Oct 31, 2021.
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. Coast Guard to launch freshwater oil spill research in Michigan. by Sheri McWhirter. Updated: Oct. 20, 2021. U.S. Senator Gary 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. The Center was set up as a joint project between the Coast Guard and the Lake Superior State University in Sault 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. After Being Enacted into Law by Peters, Great Lakes Coast Guard Center of Expertise to be Headquartered in Michigan. Center of Expertise, Enacted into Law by Previous Peters-led Efforts, Will Study Impacts of Oil Spills in Freshwater Environments, Press Release from US Senator Gary Peters, October 19, 2021. The legislation to establish this center was enacted in 2018. Peters Provision Establishing Great Lakes Coast Guard Center of Expertise Signed Into Law. Center of Expertise Will Study Impacts of Oil Spills in Freshwater Environments. Press release by US Senator Gary Peters, official website, December 2018.
History 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, the U.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. Great Lakes; a brief history of U.S. Coast Guard Operations by Dennis Noble, U.S. Defense Dept. official website, June 27, 2017, accessed November 1, 2021. Another predecessor agency, the U.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. The U.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.
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 of Prohibition 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.
Sectors
U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes is further subdivided into several sectors. These include: Sector Eastern Great Lakes (Buffalo, New York) Sector Detroit (Detroit, Michigan) Sector Northern Great Lakes (Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan) Sector Lake Michigan (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) Sector Field Office (SFO) Grand Haven (Grand Haven, Michigan)
Stations U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes is constructed of 48 active stations located in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin, Indiana and Minnesota.
Sector Eastern Great Lakes Stations Station Alexandria Bay: Wellesley Island, New York Station Ashtabula: Ashtabula, Ohio Station Buffalo: Buffalo, New York Station Cleveland Harbor/Station Small Lorain: Cleveland, Ohio Station Erie: Erie, Pennsylvania Station Fairport: Grand River, Ohio Station Niagara: Youngstown, New York Station Oswego: Oswego, New York Station Rochester: Rochester, New York Station Sackets Harbor (AUXOP): Sackets Harbor, New York Station Sodus Point: Sodus Point, New York
Sector Detroit Stations Station Belle Isle: Detroit, Michigan Station Harbor Beach: Harbor Beach, Michigan Station Marblehead: Marblehead, Ohio Station Port Huron: Port Huron, Michigan Station Saginaw River: Essexville, Michigan Station St. Clair Shores: St. Clair Shores, Michigan Station Tawas: East Tawas, Michigan Station Toledo: Toledo, Ohio
Sector Lake Michigan Stations Station Calumet Harbor: Chicago, Illinois Station Chicago (Small): Chicago, Illinois Station Frankfort: Frankfort, Michigan Station Grand Haven: Grand Haven, Michigan Station Green Bay (AUXOP): Green Bay, Wisconsin Station Holland (AUXOP): Holland, Michigan Station (ANT) Kenosha: Kenosha, Wisconsin Station Ludington: Ludington, Michigan Station Manistee: Manistee, Michigan Station Michigan City: Michigan City, Indiana Station Milwaukee: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Station (ANT) Muskegon: Muskegon, Michigan Station Sheboygan: Sheboygan, Wisconsin Station St. Joseph: St. Joseph, Michigan Station Sturgeon Bay: Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Station (ANT) Two Rivers: Two Rivers, Wisconsin Station Washington Island (Small): Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin Station Wilmette: Wilmette, Illinois
Sector Northern Great Lakes Stations Station Alpena (AUXOP): Alpena, Michigan Station Bayfield: Bayfield, Wisconsin Station Charlevoix: Charlevoix, Michigan Station Duluth: Duluth, Minnesota Station Marquette: Marquette, Michigan Station North Superior (Small): Grand Marais, Minnesota Station Portage: Dollar Bay, Michigan Station Sault Ste Marie: Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan Station St. Ignace: St. Ignace, Michigan
Air Stations
Air Station Detroit is located on Selfridge Air National Guard Base near Detroit, Michigan. Primary missions include Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement, domestic icebreaking operations, Marine Environmental Protection (MEP), Rotary Wing Air Intercept (RWAI) and mission support for local, state, and federal agencies. Air Station Detroit is responsible for the southern portion of Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario.
Air Facility Muskegon is a detachment of Air Station Detroit. The air facility operates during the summer months to support the southwest portion of Lake Michigan. The air facility is staffed by two four-person aircrews operating a MH-65D Dolphin Helicopter. Air Station Traverse City is located at the Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, Michigan. Air Station Traverse City operates all of Lake Michigan and a large portion of Lake Superior and Lake Huron. Primary missions include Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, and Search and Rescue. Air Station Traverse City has transitioned from four MH-65 Dolphin helicopters to their current three Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters. Air Station Traverse City is commanded by Commanding Officer Andrew Schanno and Command Master Chief Bradford Young. Air Facility Waukegan, previously known as Air Station Chicago, now operates in Waukegan, 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 a MH-65D Dolphin Helicopter.
Cutters
U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes has ten active cutters operating in all five Great Lakes. 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.
Due to the requirement of Rush–Bagot Treaty, the cutters assigned to the Great Lakes are minimally armed, save for a few machine guns.
USCGC Spar (WLB-206) is a 225-foot multi-mission cutter located in Duluth, 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 five Great Lakes, however, most of its operations are in Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. is a 140-foot icebreaking tug stationed in Saint Ignace, Michigan. Its primary mission is to maintain tracks in the connecting waterways in the Great Lakes and assist vessels through icebound shipping lanes. Biscayne Bay operates widely throughout the great lakes. Primary areas of operation are the Straits of Mackinac and the St. Mary's River. In addition, the cutter operates in the St. Clair/Detroit River system, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Duluth, Minnesota, and Thunder Bay, Ontario. USCGC Bristol Bay (WTGB-102) is a 140-foot icebreaking tug stationed in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary responsibility is opening and maintaining icebound shipping lanes in the Great 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 designed Bristol Bay.
USCGC Buckthorn (WLI-642) is a 100-foot inland buoy tender stationed in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Its primary missions are aids-to-navigation within the Sault Ste Marie's River System, homeland security, and public affairs. Buckthorns area of responsibility expands from Whitefish Point, Michigan thru Sault Ste Marie's River. Buckthorn is the oldest cutter in the Great Lakes. is a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender stationed in Port Huron, Michigan. It is responsible for approximately 150 aids-to-navigation on mainly Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and Lake Erie. Hollyhock other primary missions include search and rescue, environmental protection, and domestic ice-breaking. Hollyhock was built in 2003 to replace WWII-era . is a 140-foot Bay-class icebreaking tug stationed in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan. Its primary missions include icebreaking, homeland security patrols, lighthouse projects, law enforcement, and public affairs. Katmai Bay operates within all Great Lakes.