On Feb. 7, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star made it to McMurdo Station in Antarctica for its annual participation in Operation Deep Freeze, which helps the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Antarctic Program’s lead agency. This is the 25th time the 399-foot, 13,000-ton Seattle-based Polar Star, the Coast Guard’s only heavy icebreaker, is supporting the mission, which involves cutting through ice as thick as 21 feet to clear a pathway for vessels to bring fuel and supplies to the station, considered the U.S. Antarctic Program’s logistics hub. Each year, the crew pilots the 399-foot, 13,000-ton cutter to break a navigable channel through miles of ice, sometimes as much as 21-feet thick, to allow fuel and supply ships to reach the station. This year, Polar Star crew members arrived…
America’s only heavy icebreaker departed its homeport in Seattle in mid-November with a crew of 159 U.S. Coast Guard members, headed toward Antarctica. This year marks Coast Guard cutter Polar Star’s 25th journey to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, an annual joint military mission to resupply U.S. Antarctic stations in support of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program. Through Operation Deep Freeze, the U.S. Coast Guard provides direct logistical support to the foundation and maintains a regional presence that preserves Antarctica as a scientific refuge. Each year, the Polar Star crew breaks a navigable channel through ice, sometimes as much as 21 feet thick, to allow fuel and supply ships to reach McMurdo Station, the largest Antarctic station and the logistics…
The Arctic continues to represent new frontiers for the North American maritime trade, yet these frontiers are also wrought with complexity. Industry in the Arctic involves an intricate web of sentiment, infrastructure, technology, climate change, politics and evolving economic practices. With industrial demands accelerated by COVID, yet also delayed by the pandemic, the Arctic maritime industry aspires to balance current demands while also checking irresponsible growth. Industry leaders must take into account multiple considerations into account when reviewing the potential of the emerging Arctic. For instance, the politics of the Arctic industry are ever-changing. Discussions are as divided as our current national political landscape, with loud voices demanding everything from rampant exploitation to a complete withdrawal. In the U.S., that interaction is driven most directly by Alaska, although Cara Condit…
On Saturday, crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star and various scientists are planning to embark on a journey from Seattle to Antarctica for Operation Deep Freeze, a mission to replenish the National Science Foundation’s U.S. Antarctic stations. They are expected to leave Saturday afternoon and make the annual trek with the help of Polar Star, America’s only heavy icebreaker able to carve out a path through ice as thick as 21 feet. They plan to replenish ships with fuel and supplies to reach McMurdo Station, the biggest Antarctic station and the U.S. Antarctic Program’s logistics base. To keep its presence in the polar regions, the Coast Guard is looking to invest in its polar icebreaker fleet and is looking at ways to expand its infrastructure at…
Earlier this month, crew members of the 420-foot-long medium polar icebreaker U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy left its Seattle homeport and embarked on its months-long deployment to the Arctic. The crew, which set out July 10, will be part of several science and research missions, further U.S. interests along the U.S.-Russia maritime border, conduct operations that “build preparedness, prevention and response capabilities,” and work and train with foreign Navy and patrol partners as part of its annual work in the region. Members will also sail around North America through the Northwest Passage and the Panama Canal and support the Coast Guard’s Arctic Strategy. “Healy’s deployment provides opportunities to deepen the Coast Guard’s cooperation and commitment with our Arctic allies and partners and to support scientific exploration to increase understanding of the changing Arctic…
Crew members of the Seattle-based Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star will soon wrap up a months-long deployment in the Arctic, where members have been assisting scientific researchers and providing security and maritime law enforcement in the polar region. Cutter Polar Star accompanied scientists and researchers to help better understand the arctic through a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, University of Washington, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, the USCG said. “The Arctic is cold, dark, and difficult to navigate in the winter,” said Capt. Bill Woityra, the Polar Star's commanding officer. “Deploying with researchers and scientists aboard has aided in the development, understanding and pursuit of technologies that will mitigate risks and enable future mission performance so that looking forward, the Coast…
Earlier this month, NOAA released the findings of its 15th Arctic Report Card. The report card, generated from the input of 133 scientists from 15 countries, reports that increasingly warm temperatures continue to affect the Arctic. For example, the Eurasian Arctic saw its lowest June snow extent in the last 54 years, a result of high temperatures felt this past spring across Siberia. Moreover, the second-warmest average annual land-surface air temperature in the Arctic since 1900 was observed between October 2019 and September 2020. The report also shows that the Arctic ice has become thinner and more fragile in the last 10 years. This year’s Arctic minimum sea ice extent was reached in September, the second-lowest in satellite record, according to NOAA. “The transformation of the Arctic to a warmer,…
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star crew members recently embarked on its journey from Seattle to the Arctic to support maritime security and enforcement in the area, including the Maritime Boundary Line shared by the U.S. and Russia. The Polar Star usually heads to Antarctica to annually support Operation Deep Freeze, which involves resupplying stations to help the National Science Foundation, but the mission was cancelled as a COVID-19 safety precaution. The 44-year-old heavy icebreaker will instead conduct enforcement of illegal fishing and be part of Arctic training to help develop new operators, the agency said. “Polar Star is poised to head into the cold, dark Arctic winter to carry out a historic mission,” said Capt. Bill Woitrya, the cutter’s commanding officer. “The ship is ready, and the crew is enthusiastic to embark on this…
This winter, the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star will travel to the Arctic to enforce the nation’s maritime governance and security in the area. “The Arctic is no longer an emerging frontier, but is instead a region of growing national importance,” said Vice Adm. Linda Fagan, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area. “The Coast Guard is committed to protecting U.S. sovereignty and working with our partners to uphold a safe, secure, and rules-based Arctic.” The Polar Star usually heads to Antarctica to aid Operation Deep Freeze, an annual mission to replenish U.S. Antarctic stations and help the National Science Foundation. This year, resupplying McMurdo Station was postponed because of COVID-19 safety. (A delivery of limited supplies will be sent by aircraft.) The Coast Guard hopes to resume this operation…
Russia’s Federal Marine and River Transport Agency Rosmorrechflot has taken delivery of the rescue tugboat Kalas from the Nevsky Shipyard as the first multipurpose shallow-draft salvage vessel in a series of four to be built under Project MPSV12. Designed by Russia’s Marine Engineering Bureau-Design-SPb, the 80-meter by 16.5-meter vessels are all being powered by twin diesel engines rated at 2,610 kW to give a range of 4,000 nautical miles and an endurance of 30 days. The new vessels will be used for search and rescue operations as well as salvage and towing work in the Arctic.
