(January 2018, Polar Star in Antarctica, photographed by Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen)
The Seattle-homeported U.S. Coast Guard heavy icebreaker Polar Star is one of a kind, and it’s coming home tomorrow after more than three months at sea. You’ll see it off north West Seattle before its scheduled arrival on the downtown waterfront at 4 pm. It’s been off supporting Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica, which the announcement describes as “the U.S. military operation to resupply the U.S. Antarctic Program.” It had a tough time, with flooding and engine-failure problems during the mission, which involved “cutting a resupply channel through 15 miles of Antarctic ice in the Ross Sea and escorting supply vessels to the continent.” It’s 399 feet long and 41 years old, and, the Coast Guard says, “expected to reach the end of its extended service life by 2023.” The Coast Guard recently announced it’s issuing a request for proposals to build new icebreakers.
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