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Nation’s Only Heavy Icebreaker
by U.S.
Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer NyxoLyno Cangemi
January 26,
2020
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, the nation’s only heavy
icebreaker, entered the fast ice on January 1, 2020 approximately 20
miles north of McMurdo Station, Antarctica, which marks the official
start of the ship’s icebreaking mission, known as Operation Deep
Freeze.
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January 2, 2020 - The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB-10) is in the fast Ice approximately 20 miles north of McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The 399-foot icebreaker is the only ship in U.S. service capable of clearing a path through the Antarctic ice to escort three refuel and resupply ships to McMurdo Station during Operation Deep Freeze. The ships deliver enough cargo and fuel to sustain year-round operations on the remote continent.
(U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Senior Chief Petty Officer
NyxoLyno Cangemi)
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Fast ice is the thick ice attached to the shore of Antarctica.
The Polar Star’s mission is to break through the 20 miles of
solid ice, some of which is up to 10 feet thick, in order for the
National Science Foundation’s McMurdo and Amundsen-Scott South Pole
stations to be resupplied. The Polar Star breaks through the fast
ice to create an initial channel and then travels back through the
passage to further break the ice into small enough pieces for other
ships to get through safely. These refuel and supply ships carry
critical fuel and supplies used to sustain NSF operations throughout
the year until Polar Star returns in 2021.
The 2019-2020 ODF
season marks the 60th Anniversary of the Antarctic Treaty and the
64th year of military dedication, ingenuity and labor in support of
the Antarctic mission.
ODF is unlike any other U.S. military
operation. Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, most inhospitable
continent on Earth. Each trip to Antarctica requires careful
planning and coordination. As weather changes quickly at the bottom
of the world, conditions are continuously monitored to ensure safety
of aircraft, ships, cargo, passengers and crews supporting ODF.
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December 28, 2019 - Coast Guard Ensign Walter Daniels operates a radio while Lt. Cmdr. Karen Kutkiewicz (left) steers the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star through pack ice about 200 miles north of McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The 43-year-old Polar Star is the nation's only heavy icebreaker, and the crew is heading to McMurdo Station to escort refuel and resupply ships through the ice, which can be as thick as 10 feet. This year marks the 64th iteration of the operation known as Operation Deep Freeze.
(U.S. Coast Guard photograph by Senior Chief Petty Officer NyxoLyno Cangemi)
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The Polar Star is the only operational heavy icebreaker in the
U.S. fleet. The cutter, which was commissioned in 1976, has a crew
of 159 people, weighs 13,500 tons and uses 75,000 horsepower to
break ice up to 21 feet thick.
The U.S. military began its
Operation Deep Freeze mission in 1955.
The Coast Guard has
been the sole provider of the nation’s polar icebreaking capability
since 1965, and seeks to increase its icebreaking fleet with six new
Polar Security Cutters to ensure continued national presence and
access to the polar regions.
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