Engine Troubles Lay Up USCG Cutter Polar Sea
The U.S. Coast Guard announced an unexpected engine casualty aboard Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea, one of the service’s three polar icebreakers, will prohibit the icebreaker from getting underway for its fall 2010 Coast Guard Arctic patrol and will most likely keep the cutter from providing standby capability for Operation Deep Freeze to support the resupply of McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Polar Sea will likely be in a maintenance status and unavailable for operations until at least January 2011.
Photo: North Pacific Coast Guard Forum
The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea (red, left) and the Coast Guard Cutter Mellon (white, right) are moored at the Coast Guard’s Pier 36 in Seattle with the Japan Coast Guard Cutter Yashima and the Russian Boarder Guard Vessel Vorovskiy on Aug. 27. The three nations took part in the North Pacific Coast Guard Forum (NPCGF), which is an international partnership of Coast Guard-like agencies from Canada, China, Japan, Russian, South Korea and the U.S. The forum took place in Port Angeles, Wash., between Aug. 23-27. (Coast Guard photo/Petty Officer 1st Class Allyson E.T. Conroy)
Polar Sea Arrives in McMurdo
The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea arrived in McMurdo after a 10,200 nautical mile transit from its home port in Seattle, Washington. Polar Sea made stops in Honolulu, Hawaii and Sydney, Australia during its voyage south. The Polar Sea, a 399-ft. polar class icebreaker with a 150-person crew, is recently out of a two-year overhaul. The Polar Sea conducted sea trials in the Arctic this summer to test all the ship's equipment and train the crew prior to transiting to Antarctica to re-supply the McMurdo station for the National Science Foundation. For the past 50 years, Coast Guard icebreakers have deployed to Antarctica in support of the Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica Operation Deep Freeze…
Change of Command for Coast Guard Cutter
Captain David J. Visneski, was relieved as Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Cutter HEALY today by Captain Daniel K. Oliver in a ceremony held onboard the cutter today. Under Captain Visneski’s leadership, HEALY sailed over 70,000 miles in completing three highly successful Polar deployments. The Coast Guard’s newest and largest icebreaker executed two scientific deployments to the Arctic and also completed a deployment to Antarctica. During the Arctic East Summer 2001 scientific mission to the eastern Arctic, scientists onboard HEALY discovered 12 underwater volcanoes, recovered over 8 tones of geological samples from the ocean floor, and even discovered a new species of shrimp. HEALY also became only the second U.S. surface ship to reach the North Pole during that deployment.
Coast Guard Ice Breaker Underway to Antartica
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Sea (WAGB-11) is underway from Coast Guard base at Pier 36 in Seattle. The cutter is deploying for Operation Deep Freeze 2003. Its primary mission is to assist the National Science Foundation with a variety of scientific research and escort resupply vessels to U.S. Station McMurdo. The six month deployment will take the cutter to Hawaii, Australia and Japan. The cutter is scheduled to return in late April.
