Society Fights to Change Fate of Former USCG Vessel

The USS/USCG Glacier made Antarctic history in February 1960 by becoming the first ship to penetrate the Bellinghausen Sea and make landfall on Thurston Island.

Four decades later, the Glacier is moored in Suisun Bay, Calif. at the Maritime Administration’s Defense Reserve Fleet Facility. However, the Glacier Society, a Stratford, Conn. based group, hopes to change its fate. The society hopes to restore the Glacier to a museum and operational oceanographic ship to serve the needs of educators, historians and the oceanographic research community in port and at sea.

Glacier was built in the early 1950s by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. When commissioned in 1955, it was the world’s largest and most powerful icebreaker, capable of breaking ice up to 20 ft. thick. It is 310 ft. long with a beam of 74 ft. and a full load displacement of 8,915 tons. Its diesel electric power plant generates 21,000 shaft hp. The armature shafts of the two deck high DC motors (the largest ever installed on a ship) are actually the propeller shaft with no reduction gears.

From 1955 to 1966 the “Mighty G,” as it was known, served the U.S. Navy. In 1966, the U.S. Coast Guard assumed total responsibility of ice-breaking missions and all Navy assets were transferred to the Coast Guard. Glacier flew the colors of the Coast Guard until 1987, when it was transferred to the inactive reserve fleet to make room for a new generation of icebreakers.

During its 32 years of service, Glacier made 29 trips to the Antarctic and 10 to the Arctic, sailing 944,050 miles. It broke channels for cargo ships at McMurdo Sound, delivered supplies to outlying bases, conducted scientific explorations to expand knowledge of new areas and conducted rescue missions.

At the 1997 Glacier reunion, the ultimate fate of Glacier was discussed in detail. The late Jim Tinch, a former chief signalman on the ship and then president of the Glacier Association, issued an order to Ben Koether to “save the Glacier.” Although ordered in jest, Chairman Tinch took the order to heart and the Glacier Society was born.

An informal organization was formed in early 1998. By summer, a preliminary survey visit was completed and this visit energized the group, so that in November the society was incorporated in Connecticut. The U.S. Navy has provided the society with the exhibition model of Glacier on long-term loan. The remarkably detailed, nine-ft. model is now on exhibit at society headquarters in Stratford, Conn.

Through the efforts of Senator Dodd, Senator Lieberman and Congressman Shays of Connecticut., the 2001 Defense Authorization Bill included a provision authorizing the Secretary of Transportation to transfer the title of the USS Glacier to the Glacier Society. President Clinton signed the legislation in October 2000. This bill marks the achievement of the first milestone in the task of saving the Glacier. The bill allows the society up to two years to accomplish all that can be done toward restoring the ship while it is at the MarAd’s NDRF facility at Suisun Bay.

The formal transfer of Glacier to the Glacier Society will be the second milestone. At that time, it is anticipated that the ship will move to a facility in the San Francisco Bay area for major engineering work and dry-docking. This will include major refurbishment/replacement of the main operating machinery, support systems and interior spaces. The final step will be shakedown training and the voyage to the East Coast.

The society’s mission is to restore the USS/USCG Glacier as an operational memorial to the United States’ contributions in expanding knowledge of the polar regions. The society will carry out its educational mission through educational cruises for students, a public museum and science and research institutions.

For more information, contact the Glacier Society at (203) 375-6638 or visit www.glaciersociety.org.