The US Coast Guard's heavy icebreaker USCGC Polar Star departed Seattle on November 20, commencing her 29th deployment to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze.
The operation is an annual joint military mission to resupply the United States Antarctic stations in support of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program.
As the US Coast Guard prepares to revitalise its icebreaking fleet, Polar Star remains the only US vessel capable of breaking a navigable channel through the ice to reach McMurdo Station, the largest Antarctic station and the logistics hub of the US Antarctic Program.
The coast guard said that each year, the cutter serves a vital role in ensuring surface access for fuel and supply ships through the Ross Sea to resupply the US Antarctic bases.
Polar Star was commissioned in 1976. The coast guard said that, despite reaching nearly 50 years of age, she remains the world’s most powerful non-nuclear icebreaker with the ability to produce up to 75,000 hp (56,000 kW).
