Coast Guard Icebreaker USCGC Polar Star Completes Antarctic Mission

Coast Guard’s only heavy icebreaker heads home after Antarctic deployment

While deployed, the icebreaker marked its 50th year of service and freed the cruise ship Scenic Eclipse II from dense ice, among other operations.

Coast Guard Icebreaker USCGC Polar Star Completes Antarctic Mission

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Polar Star, America's only operational heavy icebreaker, has successfully completed her annual mission to break out...

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star completes Operation Deep Freeze 2026 mission, departs Antarctica

USCGC Polar Star escorts the motor vessel Stena Polaris, the largest fuel tanker ever to reach McMurdo Station, through the ice-covered Ross Sea during Operation Deep Freeze 2026, Jan. 21, 2026. Pacific Air Forces operates on a 24-hour basis to provide the U.S. National Science Foundation complete joint operational and logistic support for Operation Deep Freeze. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ensign Madelyn Greene) From U.S. Coast Guard Northwest Di…

Cutter Polar Star Completes Mission in Antarctica

MARCH 12, 2026 — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) departed McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, on March 1, after operating for 55 days below the Antarctic Circle and traveling 14,000 miles in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2026. The cutter marked its 50th year of commissioned service on Jan. 17 while breaking free a cruise ship trapped in pack ice during a six-hour evolution. The Australian-owned cruise ship Scenic Eclipse II contacted …

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star completes Operation Deep Freeze 2026 mission, departs Antarctica

SOUTHERN OCEAN — The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) departed McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, on March 1, after operating for 55 days below the Antarctic Circle and traveling 14,000 miles in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2026.