USCGC Polar Star Completes Annual Resupply Mission to Antarctica
U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Polar Star completed its annual mission to Antarctica as part of a resupply mission.
The vessel left McMurdo Station, Antarctica, on February 12 after 51 days of operating below the Antarctic Circle as part of Operation Deep Freeze 2024.
It is an annual resupply mission to McMurdo in support of the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Program.
The operation involves airlift coordination, evacuation support, search and rescue, sealift, seaport access, fuel supply, port cargo handling, and transportation.
This year, the Polar Star’s mission involved breaking a 38-mile channel through fast ice to create a navigable to McMurdo Station.
Polar Star’s mission this year marked its 27th journey to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze.
Each year, the 399-foot, 13,000-ton cutter breaks a navigable channel to McMurdo Station, the U.S. Antarctic Program’s logistics hub and the largest station on the continent.
The cleared channel allowed two supply vessels, Ocean Gladiator and Arcadia Trade, to offload over 1,000 cargo containers and 8 million gallons of fuel.
These two ships carry enough fuel, food, and supplies to support operations for a year until the next airlift and sealift opportunity in 2025.
The icebreaker also visited the Bay of Whales, where Coast Guard divers set a new record for the southernmost scuba dive.
The crew also held an Antarctica Service Medal ceremony on the shore next to the Ross Ice Shelf in the Bay of Whales.