The Marine Services Team (formerly Underwater Recovery Unit) was created in 1957. The team provides diving expertise in the areas of body recovery, evidence collection and recovery of stolen property. The team assists other state, local, and federal departments in a number of activities. The team has assisted the Michigan Department of Transportation with underwater bridge inspection/video taping, Michigan Department of Natural Resources with photography and video taping of shipwreck artifacts and confiscation of illegal gill fishing nets, and United States Coast Guard with hull inspections and retrieval of property, such as buoy markers.

Marine Services Team Organizational Structure

The members of this team are troopers and sergeants assigned to various posts throughout the state. These members are trained and certified as divers and divemasters. When a call for service is received, the closest available divemaster will assess the scene and determine what type of equipment, resources, and personnel are needed to safely accomplish the mission. The closest members to the location of the request are activated and assigned to the detail.

The team has several trailered boats, sonar and side-scan sonar, an equipment/command post vehicle, and a warming shelter for ice diving operations. Members are equipped with single and double 100 cubic feet tanks, half and full face masks, dry suits, underwater communications, stabilizers, regulators, and computers. Divemasters are equipped with global positioning system devices, steel cables, tow bars, oxygen tanks, and metal detectors.