Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star wraps Operation Deep Freeze 2026 after rescue and resupply

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Star left McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, on March 1 after 55 days below the Antarctic Circle and 14,000 miles under way supporting Operation Deep Freeze 2026, the annual mission that sustains the U.S. Antarctic Program.

The deployment doubled as a milestone: on January 17, the 399‑foot heavy icebreaker marked its 50th year in commission while freeing the Australian‑owned cruise ship Scenic Eclipse II from pack ice during a six‑hour evolution. The cruise ship requested assistance after encountering denser ice than expected roughly eight nautical miles from McMurdo Station.

Polar Star made two close passes to break the vessel free, then escorted it about four nautical miles to open water. Within days, the crew finished carving a seven‑mile channel through fast ice to open a navigable route to McMurdo Station.

Shortly after, Polar Star escorted the 600‑foot fuel tanker Stena Polaris into and out of Winter Quarters Bay through a brash‑ice‑filled channel to deliver more than 6 million gallons of fuel to the station. “I am so proud of how this crew, once again brought their best energy and worked together through every single challenge this year’s mission presented,” said Capt.

Jeff Rasnake, the cutter’s commanding officer. “Despite the heavy toll Operation Deep Freeze exacts on each individual, mentally and physically, our spirits remain high as we point our compass north and start our journey home.” In late January, the cutter spent five days moored at McMurdo Station, where crew members helped onload 300,000 gallons of fuel.

After departing, Polar Star, working with the National Science Foundation, removed the 4,200‑ton floating ice pier from Winter Quarters Bay into McMurdo Sound, clearing the bay for the arriving vessel Plantijngracht to conduct cargo operations via a U.S. Army Modular Causeway System.

Shifting ice floes later required Polar Star to escort the Plantijngracht into protected waters. After cargo operations concluded and the vessel departed, the cutter conducted its fifth and final escort of the season to bring the tug Rachel through late‑season pack ice to deliver the new NSF Discovery Pier to McMurdo Station.

“The delivery of the new NSF Discovery Pier is a landmark achievement that will significantly enhance the logistical support for the U.S. Antarctic Program for years to come,” said Cmdr. Samuel Blase, Polar Star’s executive officer. He said the multi‑year effort culminated this year with the trek of the pier from Oregon to McMurdo Sound, enabled by teamwork across the Coast Guard, National Science Foundation, U.S.

Navy Seabees, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the New Zealand Antarctic Program, and tug Rachel. Polar Star departed Seattle in November for its 29th deployment to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, which provides logistics for the U.S. Antarctic Program managed by the National Science Foundation.

The mission includes strategic and tactical airlift, airdrop, aeromedical evacuation, search and rescue, sealift, seaport access, bulk fuel supply, cargo handling, and other transportation requirements that enable continuous scientific research in one of the world’s most remote regions.

The cutter’s crew also supported the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources by monitoring activity on the high seas to safeguard resources and U.S. interests. Polar Star is the United States’ only surface asset capable of providing year‑round access to both polar regions.

Commissioned in 1976, the heavy icebreaker displaces 13,500 tons and measures 84 feet across with a 34‑foot draft.