The United States Coast Guard Cutter 'Polar Star' was released by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority from search and rescue duties this week, following confirmation the Russian-flagged 'Akademik Shokalskiy' and Chinese-flagged 'Xue Long ' were freed from the Antarctic ice due to a favourable change in wind conditions.
The Coast Guard Pacific Area command centre received confirmation from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority that both ships broke through the heavy ice, rendering assistance from the 'Polar Star' no longer necessary.
The 'Polar Star' received the original request from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to assist the 'Akademik Shokalskiy' and 'Xue Long', reportedly ice-bound in the Antarctic, on January 3. The Russian and Chinese governments also requested assistance from the United States.
After resupplying in Sydney, the cutter was en route to the stranded vessels January 4.
The 'Polar Star' left its homeport of Seattle in December 2013 on one of its primary missions, Operation Deep Freeze. The ship's mission is to break a channel through the sea ice of McMurdo Sound to allow the resupply and refuelling of the US Antarctic Program's McMurdo and Amundsen-Scott South Pole stations.
The National Science Foundation manages all the scientific research and logistics of the US Antarctic Program on the Antarctic continent and in the Southern Ocean. McMurdo Station is the logistics hub for the US Antarctic Program research.
This is the first time since 2006 that the 'Polar Star' has made this journey. It has recently completed a three-year, US$90 million overhaul, which will allow it to continue these important missions into the foreseeable future. For more than 50 years, Coast Guard icebreaker crews have deployed to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze.
The 'Polar Star' is the US Coast Guard's only active heavy polar icebreaker. The ship is 121.6 metres in length and its maximum speed is 18 knots. The cutter is able to continuously break 1.8 metres of ice at three knots, and break 6.4 metres of ice backing and ramming.
The 'Polar Star' is specifically designed for open-water ice breaking with a reinforced hull and special ice-breaking bow
