Cutter Polar News

The 157 crewmembers of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) arrived at McMurdo Station in Antarctica Monday following an 86-day transit from the United States and the cutter’s departure from its Seattle homeport Nov. 13.This deployment marks the Polar Star’s 25th journey to Antarctica supporting Operation Deep Freeze, an annual joint military service mission to resupply the United States Antarctic stations in support of the National Science Foundation, lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program.Each year…

The U.S. Coast Guard's sole heavy icebreaker arrived January 22 at McMurdo Station, following a 58-day transit from the United States. Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) departed its’ homeport of Seattle on November 26.This year marks the Polar Star’s 23rd journey to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, an annual joint military service mission to resupply the United States Antarctic stations, in support of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program.The 399-foot…

The Coast Guard needs a ship that can do more than just break ice; it needs a multi-mission ship to provide for the nation’s security, asserting its sovereign rights, and protecting its long-term economic interests. That ship is the Polar Security Cutter.Since Russia cashed the check in 1867 for the purchase of Alaska the U.S. has been an Arctic nation. Today, it is one of eight countries that have territorial land or seas above the Arctic Circle or in the polar region (six of those countries have Arctic Ocean coastline or an exclusive economic zone above the Arctic Circle). The U.S.

VT Halter Marine of Pascagoula, MS has emerged the victor in one of the most prized and coveted shipbuilding contracts in recent memory, a $746m deal to build the Coast Guard's lead Polar Security Cutter. If two additional ship options are exercised, the total deal could approach $2B.The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy, through an Integrated Program Office (IPO), awarded VT Halter Marine Inc., of Pascagoula, Mississippi, a fixed price incentive (firm) contract for the Detail Design and Construction (DD&C) of the Coast Guard’s lead Polar Security Cutter (PSC).

It seems the U.S. cannot do enough to fast-track the construction of its new icebreaking fleet, as the USCG announce last night that the 150-member crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star fought a fire at approximately 9 p.m. PST Feb. 10 that broke out in the ship's incinerator room about 650 miles north of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.After initial response efforts using four fire extinguishers failed, fire crews spent almost two hours extinguishing the fire. Fire damage was contained inside the incinerator housing…

The 150 crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star arrived Thursday in Antarctica along with a resupply vessel during Operation Deep Freeze – a joint military service mission to resupply U.S. interests in Antarctica.Homeported in Seattle, the 42-year-old Coast Guard cutter is the United States’ only operational heavy icebreaker, and the crew is making their sixth deployment in as many years to directly support the resupply of McMurdo Station – the United States’ main…

Maritime Reporter & Engineering News was offered the opportunity to interview Admiral Karl Schultz, the 26th Commandant in the history of the United States Coast Guard, in his office in Washington, DC. Just five months into his tenure, his plate is predictably full with a number of challenges, including: Attracting and retaining future U.S. Coast Guard personnel; addressing a number of assymetric threats, including cyber attacks; and ensuring captial and operating budgets are adequate to safely and efficiently carry out a global mission envelope, to name but a few.

The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy returned home Friday to their homeport in Seattle following a four-month deployment in the Arctic. In addition to providing presence and access in the Arctic during the 129-day summer deployment, the Healy crew completed three research missions in partnership with the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Office of Naval Research, conducting physical and biological research in the Arctic Ocean.

America’s aging, sole remaining heavy icebreaker suffered several engineering challenges, including flooding and engine failure, on its way to completing a recent mission in the Antarctic, highlighting the U.S.’ need for new polar icebreakers. The 1970s-era U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star is called upon each year to aid the delivery of fuel and supplies for National Science Foundation research stations in Antarctica, carving a navigable path through the Ross Sea where seasonal and multi-year ice is sometimes as much as 10 feet thick.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star arrived at the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station Tuesday after cutting a resupply channel through more than 60 miles of Antarctic ice in the Ross Sea. By carving a navigable path through seasonal and multi-year ice, the Polar Star assists in the annual delivery of operating supplies and fuel for two of NSF's three U.S. research stations in Antarctica. The Polar Star is America’s only operational heavy icebreaker that is capable of conducting the Antarctic resupply mission.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s polar icebreaker Cutter Polar Star has made a brief stop in a warmer climate, mooring in San Diego before returning to Seattle after a four and a half month-long deployment to the Antarctic in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2016. The Polar Star, a 399-foot cutter commissioned in 1976, is the nation’s only operational heavy icebreaker, and the most powerful non-nuclear icebreaker in the world. The cutter recently delivered necessary cargo to sustain the National Science Foundation managed U.S. Antarctic Program’s McMurdo and South Pole stations for the next year.

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft delivered the 2016 State of the Coast Guard Address at U.S. Capitol Visitor Center Congressional Auditorium Tuesday. This was Adm. Zukunft’s second State of the Coast Guard Address and he welcomed the opportunity to recognize Service accomplishments, reinforce his strategic intent and provide direction for the coming year. "Now, on behalf of the 88,000 women and men of the Coast Guard, I profoundly thank the 114th Congress and this Administration for delivering an authorization bill along with the largest acquisition budget in Coast Guard history,” stated Zukunft. The commandant’s speech focused on how the budget is being driven by strategy and how the budget will support his priorities to invest in the 21st century Coast Guard…

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, Adm. Paul Zukunft presented at last week’s 6th Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations in Washington, DC. Summarizing Adm. In my role as the Commandant of the Coast Guard, I view the Coast Guard as the lead federal maritime agency when it comes to all things Arctic. By “all things Arctic,” I mean everything from safety of life at sea, to marine environmental protection, to fisheries enforcement and a whole host of Coast Guard missions. They all reside within one service, the United States Coast Guard.

The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, the United States’ only operational heavy icebreaker, is scheduled to return to Seattle after a 101-day Antarctic deployment Tuesday. Polar Star’s crew departed Seattle for Operation Deep Freeze 2015, the military resupply and logistical support mission for the U.S. Antarctic Program’s McMurdo Station. Coast Guardsmen aboard Polar Star escorted the cargo vessel Ocean Giant and fuel tanker Maersk Peary to McMurdo Station through ice ranging in thickness from 5 to 10 feet. These logistics allow scientific research to continue in the Antarctic.

The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued an Australian fishing vessel carrying 26 people that had been stranded in icy Antarctic seas since last week, the Coast Guard said on Tuesday. The crew was saved on Sunday by the Coast Guard cutter Polar Star, which broke through some 150 miles (240 km) of thick ice on its way to the 207-foot (63-meter) Antarctic Chieftain vessel, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The Chieftain had been stuck about 900 miles (1,450 km) northeast of McMurdo Sound since last Tuesday, after damaging three of its four propellers in the ice, the Coast Guard said. "There were some very happy sailors aboard Antarctic Chieftain upon our arrival," Polar Star commanding officer, Captain Matthew Walker, said in a statement.

A U.S. Coast Guard crew is en route to assist a 207-foot fishing vessel with 26 people aboard beset in ice approximately 900 miles northeast of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star is attempting to reach the crew of an Australian-flagged fishing vessel, Antarctic Chieftain, who contacted Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand Tuesday evening for assistance after becoming trapped in the Antarctic ice. The crew of 40-year-old cutter has reported heavy, snow, wind and ice conditions at times as well as large icebergs along their course.

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter has been diverted from its path to rescue a 207-foot fishing vessel stuck in Antarctic ice, the US Coast Guard announced in a press release today. Antarctic Chieftain, an Australian-flagged fishing vessel with 27 passengers, contacted Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand after becoming beset in ice 900 miles Northeast of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica on Tuesday. The vessel suffered damage to three of its four propeller blades when it became stuck in the ice and lost its ability to maneuver. RCC New Zealand diverted U.S.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter 'Polar Star' is responding to a request from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) to assist the Russian-flagged passenger expedition ship 'Akademik Shokalskiy' and the Chinese-flagged icebreaker 'Xue Long'  (which had earlier taken off the passengers from the 'Shokalsky' before becoming beset herself). The Polar Star leaves Sydney today after taking on supplies prior to its voyage to Antarctica, and it is anticipated it will take approximately seven days for the US Coast Guard Cutter to reach Commonwealth Bay, depending upon weather and ice conditions.

Both the 'Akademik Shokalskiy' and the 'Xue Long' have managed to break free from heavy ice in Commonwealth Bay, Antarctica, informs the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia). According to the the U.S. Coast Guard, the Cutter Polar Star was released by AMSA from search and rescue duties after the Coast Guard Pacific Area command center received confirmation that both ships had broken through the heavy ice. At about 7-30pm AEDT on Tuesday…

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star was released by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority from search and rescue duties Jan. 7, following confirmation the Russian-Flagged Akademik Shokalskiy and Chinese-Flagged Xue Long are free from the Antarctic ice due to a favorable change in wind conditions. The Coast Guard Pacific Area command center received confirmation from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority at 2 p.m. Pacific Standard Time that both ships broke through the heavy ice, rendering assistance from the Polar Star no longer necessary.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star successfully completed its breakout of McMurdo Science Station in Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze Wednesday. The cutter assisted by breaking a navigable shipping lane through 12 miles of  ice in McMurdo Sound, encountering ice up to 10 feet in thickness. The shipping channel through the ice created by Polar Star was used by the tanker ship Maersk Peary to deliver approximately three and a half million U.S. gallons of fuel  to McMurdo residents, allowing the station to remain manned and ready during the freezing winter months.

The nation’s only heavy icebreaker departed Seattle Sunday for a four-month mission to Antarctica as part of Operation Deep Freeze, the annual Joint Task Force Support to resupply the National Science Foundation outpost there. The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star from Coast Guard Base Seattle will head to McMurdo Sound in support the U.S. Antarctic Program and the National Science Foundation. This mission will require the cutter’s crew to break through more 12 miles of ice in McMurdo Sound, sometimes as much as 10 feet in thickness, to resupply McMurdo Science Station.

The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star is scheduled to return to their homeport of Coast Guard Base Seattle at 10 a.m., Friday, March 21, 2014, following a 108-day deployment of Operation Deep Freeze 2014. Polar Star departed Seattle Dec. 3rd, 2013, and made port calls in Honolulu, Sydney, Australia, McMurdo Station, Antarctica, and Tahiti, French Polynesia. Having completed a reactivation that began four years ago, this deployment marks the first time in six years that a U.S. icebreaker has supported Operation Deep Freeze, the U.S. Antarctic Program’s resupply efforts of McMurdo Station, Antarctica. In January, Polar Star departed Sydney to assist in the rescue effort of two ships, the Russian vessel Akademik Shokalsiky and the Chinese vessel Xue Long.