The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) and crew departs Seattle Nov. 16, 2022. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Clark)
SEATTLE — The United States’ only heavy icebreaker, the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, is scheduled to arrive to its Seattle homeport Saturday, April. 8, 2023.
Polar Star completed its 26th journey to Antarctica. This annual journey is conducted in support of Operation Deep Freeze, a joint military service mission to resupply the United States Antarctic stations of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program.
The Polar Star crew conducts this essential mission to create a navigable path through ice as thick as 21-feet, to allow refuel and resupply ships to reach McMurdo Station, the largest Antarctic research station, and the logistics hub of the U.S. Antarctic Program.
The U.S. Coast Guard is recapitalizing its polar icebreaker fleet to ensure access to the Polar Regions, project U.S. sovereignty and to protect the country’s economic, environmental, and national security interests.
