USCG Icebreaking Vessel Polar Star Sets Sail for Antarctica
As the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) and crew departed Seattle recently for its deployment to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, all eyes come back around to the U.S. icebreaking fleet, or lack thereof, as the nation and its allies work to help build the fleet to be larger and stronger than ever, facing potential national security threats that come with a strong Russian and Chinese presence in the polar regions.
Operation Deep Freeze (ODF) is an annual joint military mission to resupply the United States Antarctic stations in support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program (USAP). This marks the 28th year that the Polar Star has supported ODF. [and in fact the lead picture to this story was taken in 2002]. Each year, the Polar Star breaks a navigable channel through the ice, allowing fuel and supply ships to reach McMurdo Station, which is the largest Antarctic station and the logistics hub of the USAP.
“I am thrilled to lead Polar Star back to Antarctica for ODF 25. After months of pre-deployment preparation and working together through various challenges, the cutter and crew are ready to embark on this enduring and critical mission,” said Capt. Jeff Rasnake, Polar Star’s commanding officer. “I couldn’t be prouder of this crew’s tremendous dedication and teamwork. They have met or exceeded all my expectations in the maintenance and training phases and continue to push themselves to build upon those successes as we now shift into the cutter’s operations phase.”
The U.S. Coast Guard is recapitalizing its polar icebreaker fleet to ensure continued access to the polar regions and to protect the country’s economic, environmental, and national security interests in the high latitudes. Each year, the Polar Star’s crew commits significant time and effort preparing the 48-year-old cutter for the annual deployment in support of ODF. This year the Polar Star completed the fourth of five planned phases of the service life extension project (SLEP).