Marine Safety Unit Cleveland History
Marine Safety Unit (MSU) Cleveland is located along Lake Erie at the foot of East Ninth Street across from Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is situated on 3.1 acres of Coast Guard owned and operated property known as the "Cleveland Moorings." The installation is also home to Coast Guard Station Cleveland Harbor, Electronics Support Detachment Cleveland, USCGC MORRO BAY, USCGC NEAH BAY, and a small Coast Guard Exchange.
Marine safety activities began at this location during World War II when the Captain of the Port Detail occupied the site. In 1958, the Marine Inspection Office moved to the Moorings. In 1959, the Seaman's Documentation Office was relocated to the Moorings from its previous location on Eagle Street in Cleveland. In 1976, the Captain of the Port Detail, the Marine Inspection Office, and the Seaman's Documentation Office were merged to create Marine Safety Office (MSO) Cleveland. As a result of Coast Guard wide consolidations, the Seaman's Documentation Office functions were later centralized at the Regional Examination Center in Toledo, OH.
In 2005, as a result of a Coast Guard wide reorganization known as "Sectorization", MSO Cleveland was reorganized and placed under the command and control of Coast Guard Sector Buffalo in Buffalo, NY. At that point the unit was renamed Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Cleveland and the associated Captain of the Port, Federal On-scene Coordinator, Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, and Officer in Charge, Marine Inspection duties were consolidated under the Sector Commander, who is responsible for eastern the eastern Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway. The Commanding Officer of Marine Safety Unit Cleveland reports to Commander, Sector Buffalo.
MSU Cleveland has operated under this construct since then and conducts proactive maritime safety, security, and marine environmental operations on Lake Erie and its tributaries. MSU Cleveland's area of responsibility ranges from the Ohio/Pennsylvania border to Vermillion, OH.