A Strategic Framework for the

U. S. Coast Guard on the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

Maritime Strategy

NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

September 2017
We will maintain and safeguard the Great Lakes 

system and the commercial and recreational users 

that depend on it through the collaborative pursuit 

of safety, security and stewardship.

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy Vision Statement
NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Overview and Purpose................................................................3

Economically and Environmentally Critical 

Region for U. S. and Canada.....................................................4

Shared and Interconnected System of 

Binational Importance...............................................................4 

Diverse, Sensitive and Seasonal Environment.....................5

Strategic Context and Guidance.............................................7

Vision............................................................................................7

Coast Guard Missions.................................................................8

Maritime Safety...........................................................................8

Maritime Security.......................................................................9

Maritime Stewardship..............................................................10

Strategic Priorities..................................................................12

Ensure Preparedness for Emerging Threats and 

Challenges.................................................................................12

Enhance Cooperation and Stakeholder Relationships.....12

Maintain the Safe and Efficient Usage of 

Great Lakes Waterways..............................................................13

Protect the Cyberspace of the Great Lakes 

and Seaway System.....................................................................13

Optimize Mission Readiness and Execution.........................14

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy Governance .......................14

The last thing an explorer arrives at is a complete map that will cover the whole ground he has traveled, but 

for those that follow, his map is the first thing with which they will begin. So it is with strategy...we must 

get our theory clear before we can venture in search of practical conclusions.

Sir Julian Corbett, 1911 

British Naval Historian and Strategist

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy
The United States Coast Guard is a multimission federal agency, one of the nation’s 

armed services and the largest component 

of the Department of Homeland Security. 

Over the past 227 years, the Coast Guard and 

its predecessors merged or absorbed other 

agencies’ missions, authorities and statutory 

requirements with its own. 

The resulting amalgam of civil and military 

responsibilities, coupled with a diverse fleet of 

cutters, boats and aviation resources guided by 

an extensive command and control network, 

empowers the Coast Guard to protect the 

American public, maintain and secure our 

maritime equities, and preserve our marine 

environment.

The fundamental concepts that authorize 

and guide our actions in support of national 

objectives are provided by a set of national, 

Department of Homeland Security and Coast 

Guard plans, strategies and policies addressing 

the full spectrum of our principal, supportive 

and contingency operations.

The Coast Guard Ninth District’s Great Lakes 

Maritime Strategy (GLMS) serves as a bridge 

between these broad national instruments 

of policy and doctrine, and the operational 

objectives of the Coast Guard’s Ninth District, 

ensuring the safety, security and stewardship 

of the Great Lakes system as detailed in the 

Strategy’s accompanying Vision Statement. 

Most importantly, the GLMS puts forth five 

Strategic Priorities to inform and guide the Ninth 

District staff and field commands as they execute 

their daily missions on the Great Lakes meeting the 

unique challenges posed by its shared, seasonal and 

freshwater environment.

The GLMS is a dynamic, adaptive document. It 

initially provides a three to five year framework and 

can be updated as necessary. The Strategic Priorities 

will be incorporated into the annual Ninth District 

Operational Planning Direction for use by its major 

commands. 

In addition to its internal use by the Coast Guard’s 

Ninth District, the Strategy provides valuable 

information on the Coast Guard’s roles and 

missions to our stakeholders who include: the 

general public, our elected congressional members, 

U. S. and Canadian partner agencies, tribal 

members, representatives of the maritime industry 

and other users of the Great Lakes and its maritime 

transportation system. 

The Ninth District’s Coast Guard family, constituted 

by the men and women of our active duty, reserve, 

civil servant and auxiliary forces, is particularly 

well suited to serve and safeguard this critically 

important border region. The Coast Guard’s multimission competencies and capabilities deliver 

tremendous value to the American public and its 

maritime interests on the Great Lakes.

Overview and Purpose

NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy

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NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy

As the shared internal waters of two sovereign nations, 

the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway system are 

one of the most unique bodies of water in the world.

The region is characterized by its fresh water, its diverse 

communities, its domestic and international marine 

trade, and its immense recreational boating population. 

The Great Lakes Basin is governed by two nations, eight 

states, three provinces, numerous first and tribal nations 

and hundreds of local communities. It is equally and 

passionately represented by multiple entities including 

commercial, industrial, recreational and environmental 

interests.

Econonomically and Environmentally Critical Region 

for the U. S. and Canada

4

The U. S. and Canadian maritime border 

environment includes shared transportation 

systems along a contiguous body of water that is 

a vital artery to the economies of both countries. 

The entirety of the Great Lakes maritime border 

encompasses 1,500 miles or the equivalent to the 

southwest border between Brownsville, Texas and 

San Diego, California. 

This continuous, interconnected and interdependent 

system shared by both countries grants access to a 

wide variety of commercial and recreational vessels. 

Upon entering the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Seaway 

system, a foreign-flagged commercial vessel may 

cross between U. S. and Canadian waters as many 

as 22 times while transiting the entire maritime 

transportation system. Once a vessel is in the system, 

it has equal opportunity access to both countries. 

As North America’s industrial heartland, the Great 

Lakes region is the economic center of gravity for 

the U. S. and Canada and a major contributor to our 

respective economic strengths and health.

It supports not only a critical economic highway 

of agriculture, industrial and manufacturing goods 

but also a multi-billion dollar outdoor recreation 

and tourism industry. The Great Lakes also support 

a world-class fishery, valued at $7 billion a year, 

with an estimated 180 species of native fish. The 

region’s four-season climate, uniquely influenced by 

the Great Lakes, supports boating, fishing, diving, 

swimming and other forms of coastal and waterbased recreation. Paddlesports and other humanpowered watercraft businesses are growing in size 

across the Great Lakes with significant numbers of 

new entities in urban and suburban locations.

It is a region of binational importance that has been 

the focus of significant international and domestic 

attention for more than a century. This reality 

requires a shared governance of the system as a 

whole. 

Shared and Interconnected System of Binational Importance
NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy

The Ninth District area of responsibility includes 

the federal navigable waters of the eight Great Lakes 

states and a diverse set of connecting waterways, 

including portions of the St. Lawrence Seaway, 

boundary lakes in Minnesota, parts of the Western 

Rivers and its tributaries, the New York State Barge 

Canal and historically navigable inland bodies of 

waters in many states. It consists of more than 6,700 

miles of U. S. shoreline encompassing 86 counties 

along the shores. 

The Great Lakes – the largest group of freshwater 

lakes on Earth – are true wonders of the world. 

They hold 21 percent of the entire world’s surface 

freshwater, 84 percent of what is accessible in North 

America, and 95 percent of the supply in the United 

States. Spread evenly across the continental U. S., 

the six quadrillion gallons of precious freshwater 

they contain would cover the country with more 

than 9 feet of water. The Lakes serve as a source of 

drinking water for more than 30 million citizens of 

the U. S. and Canada.

The sand dunes, coastal marshes, rocky shorelines, 

lakeplain wet prairies, savannas, forests, fens, 

wetlands and other Great Lakes landscapes contain 

globally unique and sensitive ecosystems that 

sustain a wealth of biological diversity. The region

is home to more than 40 plant and animal species 

found nowhere else in the world and over 200 

globally rare plants and animals. 

The seasonal nature of the area of responsibility, 

including ice and sometimes harsh winter 

conditions, poses additional challenges to executing 

the Coast Guard’s statutory mission mandates. The 

cyclic training and equipment preparations for the 

“soft and hard” water seasons continually test our 

personnel with different sets of operating conditions 

and their attendant risks. 

The arrival of ice creates challenges in waterways 

management, aids to navigation, icebreaking, ice 

rescue and cross-border security like no other place 

in the Coast Guard. 

Diverse, Sensitive and Seasonal Environment

5

Did you know?

•	The Great Lakes -- Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario -- and their connecting channels form 

the largest fresh surface water system on earth.

•	Nearly 25 percent of Canadian agricultural production and 7 percent of American farm production are 

located in the Great Lakes basin.

•	More than 30 million people live in the Great Lakes basin - roughly 10 percent of the U. S. population and 

more than 30 percent of the Canadian population.

•	The water in these freshwater seas covers more than 94,000 square miles with more than twice as much 

land draining into these waters from throughout the Great Lakes basin; if spread evenly across the 

contiguous 48 states, the water from these lakes would be more than 9 feet deep.

•	From Lake Ontario, the water from the Great Lakes flows through the St. Lawrence River all the way to 

the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,000 miles away.
The Great Lakes are bodies of fresh water that are 

truly “Great.” When stacked end-for-end along the 

eastern seaboard, they stretch from New York to 

Florida. Thinking of them merely as “lakes” belies 

their size and complexity as well as the threats and 

challenges they present to those involved with 

ensuring their safety, security and stewardship. 

NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy

Did you know?

•	Canada and the U. S. are the world’s largest trading partners with about $1.7B in daily two-way trade.

•	The Great Lakes Region accounts for over 60% of the total U. S. and Canada two-way trade.

•	Half of Canada’s 20 largest ports are part of the Great Lakes Seaway system. On average, these ports 

handle 40% of Canada’s total marine trade.

•	If the Great Lakes region was its own nation, it would host the third largest economy in the world, just 

behind the United States and China. 

•	The Great Lakes support 1.5 million jobs and $62 billion in wages annually. 

2069 miles

Atlantic

1631 miles

Gulf of Mexico

4530 miles

Great Lakes

1293 miles

Pacic

Source: The Coastline of the United States. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, NOAA/PA 71046 (Rev. 1975).

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NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy

Strategic Context and Guidance

7

National Strategy for Homeland Security

National Response Framework

Commandant’s Direction and Strategic Intent

Coast Guard Western Hemisphere Strategy

Strategic Planning Direction

via Standard Operational Planning Process

Coast Guard Human Capital Strategy

Coast Guard Cyber Strategy

Coast Guard Arctic Strategy

Project Evergreen

The 2014 Quadrennial 

Homeland Security Review

National Response 

Framework 

Second Edition

May 2013

national strategy for

Homeland

security

Homeland security council

National 

october 2007

Policy DHS Policy

Quadrennial Homeland Security Review

Department of Homeland Security Strategic Plan

USCG Commandant Policy Atlantic Area Policy

Atlantic Area Strategic Plan

Atlantic Area Operational Planning Direction

via Standard Operational Planning Process

Fiscal Years 2014-2018 

Strategic Plan 

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

COMMANDANT’S STRATEGIC INTENT

2015 – 2019

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

WESTERN

HEMISPHERE STRATEGY

SEPTEMBER 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C.

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

JANUARY 2016

WASHINGTON, D.C.

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY

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united states coast guard ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

cyber strategy

June 2015

washington, d.c.

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy 

2016 Annual Report

U.S. Coast Guard

NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

Ninth District 

Policy

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy

Ninth District Annual Report

A StrAtegic FrAmework For the

U.S. coASt gUArd on the greAt LAkeS

greAt LAkeS

mAritime StrAtegy

NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

JULy 2017

We will maintain and safeguard the Great Lakes system and the commercial and recreational users 

that depend on it through the collaborative pursuit of safety, security and stewardship.

The Ninth District arrived at our current organization, arrangement of forces 

and mission set through a long legacy of 

statutory mandates, customer and stakeholder 

requirements, external influences and evolving 

priorities based on opportunities and in 

response to challenges. 

Additionally, an array of national, Departmental 

and Coast Guard strategy documents, doctrine 

and analyses inform and guide our current 

actions, establish priorities and commitments, 

and identify future areas of emphasis.

Vision



U.S. Coast Guard Evergreen Process

Version 3.0 September 2013

Creating and Sustaining

Strategic Intent

U.S. Coast Guard

in the

Version 3.0 September 2013
NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy

The Coast Guard’s diverse set of missions are regularly executed in the Ninth District in support of our country’s enduring maritime interests on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.

We have a long legacy of marine safety, icebreaking, search and rescue, maritime law enforcement and 

border security missions. These missions protect those on the Great Lakes, protect us from threats delivered 

by a maritime mode and protect the Great Lakes and Seaway itself. 

Our military, multi-mission, maritime force offers a unique blend of law enforcement, humanitarian, 

regulatory, maritime security and diplomatic capabilities. These capabilities support our three broad roles: 

maritime safety, maritime security and maritime stewardship. 

Coast Guard Missions

Maritime Safety

A fundamental responsibility of our government is 

to safeguard the lives and safety of its citizens. The 

Coast Guard, in partnership with other federal, 

Canadian, state, tribal governments and agencies 

and with the assistance of the commercial and 

recreational users of the Great Lakes, ensures safety 

in the maritime domain through marine safety and 

search and rescue.

The Marine Safety mission seeks to improve 

maritime safety through a prevention program 

designed to address vessel lifesaving, firefighting, 

structural, stability and navigational standards. This 

is achieved by conducting regulatory inspections 

aboard commercial vessels, educating the public 

on recreational boating safety and investigating 

maritime casualties. Elements of this program 

require collaboration with Transport Canada and 

the St. Lawrence Seaway Corporations. Additionally, 

merchant marine credentialing ensures operators 

and crew are certified for their positions. 

The Search and Rescue mission has a long and 

proud heritage here on the Great Lakes with the 

mission’s roots originating with the legacy U. S.

Lifesaving Service beginning in the 1870s. When 

mariners find themselves in harm’s way, a response 

from our strategically placed stations is quickly 

dispatched under the command and control of one 

of our four Sector Commands. The U. S. Coast 

Guard and Canadian Coast Guard regularly assist 

each other by utilizing the nearest or most capable 

resource depending on the nature of the distress 

and its location.

The search and rescue mission minimizes the loss of 

life, injury and property damage or loss on the Great 

Lakes by conducting search planning, coordinating 

both search and rescue response and locating and 

rescuing mariners in distress. In the Ninth District, 

our small boat crews and aviators train so they are 

ready to deploy in “soft water” during the summer 

months. During the winter, when “hard water” 

exists, our Coast Guard crews must be ready to 

apply a different set of skills and types of rescue 

equipment on the ice-covered lakes and rivers. 

8
NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES Maritime law enforcement and border control are 

some of the oldest missions of the Coast Guard 

and our predecessor agencies. Non-compliant 

vessel use of force tactics were bred on the Great 

Lakes during prohibition when rum runners took 

advantage of the Great Lakes geography to move 

illegal contraband.

An extensive 1,500 mile-long maritime border 

continues to present a potential conduit for the 

movement of illegal products, drugs and people 

necessitating a narcotic and migrant interdiction 

mission on most of the Lakes. Since the September 

2001 attacks on our country, Coast Guard security 

resources and authorities protect us from threats 

delivered by a maritime mode through our ports, 

waterways and coastal security mission.

The Drug Interdiction mission reduces the supply 

of illegal narcotics to the U. S. by disrupting the 

maritime flow of illegal drugs. Interdiction and 

seizure of smuggling vessels carrying narcotics 

and other illegal contraband takes place along the 

maritime border, especially at choke points and 

where transits are short. 

The Ninth District relies 

on joint, interagency and 

international partnerships 

and the intelligence 

community to conduct 

drug interdiction. 

The Migrant Interdiction

mission enforces U. S. 

immigration laws and international conventions 

against human smuggling through interdiction. 

Similar to drug smuggling, illegal migration on the 

Lakes takes place where transit zones are short and 

counter-surveillance is difficult to detect. The Coast 

Guard accomplishes this mission in conjunction 

with other federal, state, tribal and local agencies, 

including U. S. Citizenship and Immigration 

Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 

Customs and Border Protection and the Department 

of State. During the winter season, the formation of 

ice can further facilitate the movement of drugs and 

humans across the border at certain locations.

The Ports, Waterways and Coastal Security 

mission protects people and property in the 

Great Lakes maritime transportation system by 

preventing, disrupting and responding to terrorist 

attacks, sabotage, espionage or subversive acts. 

Security activities include preparedness, planning 

and exercises, initiatives to enhance the resilience 

of the maritime transportation system including 

critical infrastructure and key resources, the 

execution of antiterrorism and counterterrorism 

activities, and initial recovery efforts after attacks. 

The Coast Guard’s Sector Commanders, serving 

as the Federal Maritime Security Coordinators, 

ensure their region’s Area Maritime Security Plan is 

maintained and the requirements of the industry’s 

Vessel and Facility Security Plans are enforced. The 

security of our ports and waterways especially relies 

upon the Coast Guard’s broad authorities and longstanding partnerships with governmental, maritime 

industry and international partners. 

Maritime Security

9

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy
NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy

The maritime environment of the Great Lakes 

region is the largest and one of the most valuable 

freshwater resources on Earth. In addition to 

providing drinking water to more than 30 million 

citizens of the U. S. and Canada, it is also a region 

of extraordinary recreational activity, viable 

commercial and recreational fisheries and serves 

as an efficient transportation mode vital to our two 

countries’ economies. Our stewardship role has 

expanded to include enforcing laws intended to 

protect the environment for the common good.

The Coast Guard helps preserve the Great Lakes’ 

Living Marine Resources through the protection 

of sensitive marine habitats, sanctuaries and 

endangered species. The Coast Guard’s efforts 

ensure the sustainability of the fish stocks for the 

vibrant recreational fishing business and a small 

but important commercial fishing industry sector. 

Furthermore, our highly effective bi-national ballast 

water enforcement program has greatly reduced the 

risk of the introduction of aquatic nuisance species 

through ballast water discharge.

The Marine Environmental Protection mission 

includes planning, preparations and operations 

to prevent, enforce, investigate, respond to and 

mitigate the threat, frequency and consequences 

of oil discharges and hazardous substance releases 

in U. S. waters. This mission includes distinct but 

complementary functions across the prevention, 

preparedness and response spectrum. 

Under the National Oil and Hazardous Substances 

Pollution Contingency Plan, the Coast Guard is the 

pre-designated Federal On-Scene Coordinator for 

oil and hazardous substance incidents in Great Lakes 

waters. In addition to developing local contingency 

plans with the states and broader regional plans with 

the Environmental Protection Agency and Canadian 

Coast Guard, we are responsible for coordinating 

effective response operations to all-hazards in the 

maritime domain. We regularly exercise these plans 

with a diverse group of government and commercial 

entities and potentially affected stakeholders to 

ensure our readiness and maintain our response 

competencies. 

The Coast Guard’s support to the Great Lakes 

Maritime Transportation System through its fixed 

and floating Aids to Navigation System is vital to 

the national economies of the U. S. and Canada and 

the billions of dollars of business that takes place 

between the world’s two biggest trading partners. 

We work closely with the Army Corps of Engineers 

and the U. S. and Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway 

Corporations as we facilitate the safe and efficient 

movement of commerce. 

This economic highway on the Lakes and St. 

Lawrence Seaway is a complex system that relies 

upon our short-range aids to navigation, navigation 

schemes and standards, support for mapping and 

charting, pilotage information and vessel traffic 

services. The recreational users of the waterways 

benefit from these services as well. We also ensure 

any bridges on the Lakes or connecting waterways 

will not impede the flow of marine traffic.

In the wintertime, our fleet of domestic icebreakers 

joins Canadian Coast Guard icebreaking ships on 

our interconnecting waterways ensuring ships 

transporting the critical energy, construction and 

Maritime Stewardship

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NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

other bulk commodities vital to our two countries’ 

economies continue to move as the Lakes freeze 

over. 

The Coast Guard’s ability to ensure maritime 

safety, security and stewardship makes us truly a 

unique instrument of national strategy. We not 

only safeguard our Great Lakes and the maritime 

community, we safeguard our economic prosperity. 

The Principles of Coast Guard operations 

complement the Department of Defense’s 

Principles of Joint Operations and accommodate 

the distinctions between war-fighting, security 

operations and law enforcement. These principles 

apply across the full range of missions: 

•	 Clear Objective

•	 Effective Presence 

•	 Unity of Effort

•	 On-Scene Initiative

•	 Flexibility

•	 Managed Risk

•	 Exercise Restraint

Principles of Coast Guard Operations

11

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy
NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy

12

The Great Lakes Maritime Strategy’s vision for the Ninth District is executed through 

the conduct of Coast Guard missions with 

areas of emphasis and opportunity categorized 

across five Strategic Priorities. These Priorities 

are met through identified Tasks that include 

distinct activities and emerging issues as well 

as reiteration of the keenly important emphasis 

placed on operational performance and 

readiness.

Ninth District staff and field commands shall 

pursue these Strategic Priorities, and their 

respective Tasks, in the daily execution of 

their missions. All or some of these Strategic 

Priorities will be incorporated in the annual 

Ninth District Operational Planning Direction 

to further inform the Sector Commands in the 

development of their operational and planning 

documents.

Strategic Priorities

Ensure Preparedness for Emerging Threats and Challenges

The Great Lakes region has historically served as a catalyst for innovation and as a result has borne witness to 

a variety of revolutions across the environment. With ingenuity and progress comes the need to best predict, 

prevent and mitigate the impacts new threats and challenges may bring. To this end, the Ninth District will 

prioritize efforts to:

Enhance Cooperation and Stakeholder Relationships

This region benefits from the strong bonds forged between stakeholders serving in the public and private 

sectors, and these unique relationships have been at the forefront of the success, adaptability and cordiality 

enjoyed in the Great Lakes maritime region. Continued deliberate collaboration will further galvanize the 

reach and impact of these interactions and the Coast Guard will actively work to:

a. Maintain preparedness to respond to all hazards in the maritime environment;

b. Support research, development and deployment of technologies for recovering oil in ice and fresh 

 water environments; and

c. Ensure coordination with Canadian, federal, state and regional partners in the prevention of aquatic 

 nuisance species introductions via the maritime mode. 

a. Leverage partnerships to enhance safety and economic security for the shared border;

b. Collaborate with Canadian, tribal, federal, state, local and industry stakeholders to bolster regional 

 all-hazards response capabilities and prevent a transportation security incident within the port 

 environment; and

c. Focus joint contingency planning, drills and exercises on worst case and most probable discharges 

 of oil or releases of hazardous substances into the navigable waters of the Great Lakes. High risk 

 sources of pollution shall be a priority.
Maintain the Safe and Efficient Usage of Great Lakes Waterways

As a system of interconnected, binational waterways, the Great Lakes are enjoyed daily by a wide variety of 

commercial, recreational and governmental enterprises. From small streams and rivers to the open waters and 

depths of the Lakes themselves, careful attention and management is needed to allow for safe and equitable 

access to these reaches by interests that are sometimes competing in nature or intent. To particular focus, the 

Ninth District will: 

Protect the Cyberspace of the Great Lakes and Seaway System

The challenges presented by the confluence of technologies and information in cyberspace are myriad. While 

the regimes managing many of these interactions, and those who may seek to exploit them, may exist outside 

of the Coast Guard’s span of control, the Ninth District will be vigilant to:

a. Execute prevention and response initiatives that enhance vessel safety and minimize adverse effects 

 upon the marine environment;

b. In cooperation with Canada, assess and mitigate risks to safe navigation in the maritime 

 environment; 

c. Develop informed mariners through timely communications on navigational hazards and changes to 

 aids to navigation; and

d. Develop and implement a recreational boating safety strategy especially focused on human powered 

 craft and their interaction with commercial users of confined waterways.

a. Enhance security initiatives to safeguard the Coast Guard’s cyber domain;

b. Collaborate with the maritime industry to reduce the risk of a cyber-based transportation security 

 incident affecting the Great Lakes Maritime Transportation System or its critical infrastructure; and

c. Improve resiliency and be prepared to respond to any internal cyber incidents in the Coast Guard 

 and coordinate the public and industry response to any disruption of the Great Lakes Maritime 

 Transportation System from a cyber-based transportation security incident.

13

NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy
NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

USCG Ninth District

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy

Primary ownership and governance of the Great Lakes Maritime Strategy (GLMS) lies with the Ninth District staff. Annually, the District Senior Leadership Group, the District’s Division Officers and field 

commanders, will review the GLMS to both validate the Strategic Priorities and their respective Tasks 

and assess the implementation progress of the Tasks as applicable. Relevant measures for the Tasks can 

be developed and monitored as appropriate. Changes, additions or deletion to the Strategic Priorities and 

Tasks can be recommended during this annual review. 

As previously mentioned, the Strategic Priorities and their Tasks will be incorporated into the Ninth 

District’s Operational Planning Direction. These Priorities, coupled with other guidance in the operational 

planning direction, provides overarching direction for operations within the Ninth District. Any 

approved modifications to the GLMS’ Strategic Priorities or Tasks proposed by the leadership group will 

be incorporated into the current operational planning direction until the next iteration of the GLMS is 

promulgated.

In addition to the annual highlights from our field units, the GLMS Annual Report will include a report on 

the progress and events related to the Strategic Priorities and their Tasks. 

Great Lakes Maritime Strategy Governance

Optimize Mission Readiness and Execution

The professional men and women of the Coast Guard deserve the highest levels of support and training we 

can provide to ensure they are able to safely and effectively accomplish every mission as well as adjust to the 

diverse elements framed in the other Strategic Priorities captured herein. As such, it is of equal importance 

and priority that the Ninth District:

a. Ensure our personnel are well-trained, proficient and properly equipped for every mission across all 

 seasons;

b. Ensure appropriate allocation of resources to meet emergent response requirements; and

c. Inform external and internal decision makers and stakeholders regarding the urgent need to 

 recapitalize aging infrastructure and assets.

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NINTH COAST GUARD DISTRICT

GUARDIANS OF THE GREAT LAKES

Commander

U. S. Coast Guard Ninth District

1240 East Ninth Street

Cleveland, OH 44199

(216)902-6020

news.uscg.mil

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