The Coast Guard heavy icebreaker Polar Star departed Seattle on Thanksgiving Day to start its 29th deployment to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze.
The 399’x84’, 13,500 gt Polar Star was commissioned in 1976 and underwent a refit and recommissioning in 2012. The world’s most powerful non-nuclear icebreaker, the Polar Star is a critical support for Operation Deep Freeze, the annual joint military mission that resupplies Antarctic stations in support of the National Science Foundation.
Congress in 2025 dedicated $9 billion to build a new generation of U.S. icebreakers and support infrastructure in the high latitudes. Until those future polar and Arctic Security Cutters enter service in the coming decade, the Polar Star will remain “the only U.S. vessel capable of breaking a navigable channel through the ice to reach McMurdo Station, the largest Antarctic station and the logistics hub of the U.S. Antarctic Program,” according to Coast Guard officials.
“Polar Star’s crew does remarkable work maintaining and operating this ship,” said Capt. Jeff Rasnake, commanding officer of Polar Star. “Each year brings unique challenges, and I’m proud to say this crew has risen to meet them all. The way we’ve come together over the course of maintenance, and our logistical preparations is exciting as we enter the operational phase of our annual deployment cycle.”
