Tag: polarstar

The Coast Guard cutter Polar Star and its crew are back in Seattle following a 144-day deployment to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2023. This was the Polar Star’s 26th voyage to Antarctica for Operation Deep Freeze, which is an annual joint military service mission to resupply the United States Antarctic stations, in support of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the U.S. Antarctic Program. This year marks the 63rd iteration of the annual operation. The Polar Star is a 399-foot heavy polar icebreaker commissioned in 1976. It weighs 13,500 tons and is 84-feett wide with a 34-foot draft. The vessel has six diesel and three gas turbine engines able to produce up to 75,000 horsepower. The cutter left Seattle for Antarctica on Nov. 12, a journey of over 2...

Polar Star, the nation’s only heavy icebreaker, returned from its 147-day mission is support of the U.S Antarctic Program, and other national interests in Antarctica and the Southern Hemisphere, going directly into dry dock at Vallejo, California, rather than its Seattle homeport.   Work began on phase two of a five-year, $75 million Service Life Extension Program in early April. The Coast Guard is replacing antiquated technology to ensure the longevity of the operational heavy icebreaker while in drydock this year, supporting the Coast Guard’s enduring commitment to Antarctic operations.   The 140-member Polar Star crew departed Seattle on Nov. 13, 2021 for the cutter’s 25th Operation Deep Freeze deployment and traveled 24,300 nautical miles to Antarctica and back.  Coast Gua...