Tag Archives: MCMURDO STATION

Polar ops at both ends of the Globe

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Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) transits through Glacier Bay, Alaska, Oct. 24, 2024. During the patrol, Bertholf’s crew operated as far north as the Arctic Circle, patrolling along the maritime boundary line between the United States and Russia and supporting U.S. strategic interests in the North Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Troy Spence.)

The Legend-class national security cutter USCGC Bertholf (WMSL 750) and crew returned to Alameda recently after completing a 130-day deployment patrolling the Bering Sea, providing real-time presence along the maritime boundary line between Alaska and Siberia. They earned their Blue Nose certificates while providing SAR coverage of the Bering Sea– including responding to a disabled fishing vessel– conducting 24 boardings, and engaging in joint operations with medium icebreaker USCGC  Healy (WAGB 20) and MH-60s out of CGAS Kodiak.

Meanwhile, down south (all the way down…)

The country’s only heavy icebreaker, USCGC Polar Star (WAGB 10), departed the Antarctic region on 4 March after 65 days south of the Antarctic Circle in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2025, her crew picking up the rare Antarctica Service Medal. Commissioned in 1976, the 399-foot icebreaker is elderly but is still getting the job done. She doesn’t have a choice as she is the only polar bear in the stable.

As noted by USCG PAO: 

The crew has transited nearly 16,000 miles since departing its Seattle homeport in November with stops in Honolulu, Sydney, and McMurdo Station. Polar Star celebrated its 49th year of Service to the Nation and visited Cape Polar Star in the northern part of the Ross Sea. Cape Polar Star was named after Polar Star for the scientific support provided by the cutter in the area during Operation Deep Freeze 86.

 

The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) stand for a photo while the cutter is hove-to in McMurdo Sound during Operation Deep Freeze, Jan. 7, 2025. Polar Star is conducting ice-breaking operations in Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze, a joint service, inter-agency support operation for the National Science Foundation, which manages the United States Antarctic Program.  (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Briana Carter)

One for the record books, courtesy of USCGC Polar Star

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Lost in the backscatter this week as everyone was busy watching the largest conventional forces war (not fought in Asia) since 1945, is the fact that the U.S. Coast Guard likely broke the record for reaching the southernmost navigable waters on Earth and entered uncharted seas.

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) transits away from the ice shelf near the Bay of Whales, Antarctica, Feb. 17, 2022. Polar Star navigated to the Southernmost navigable seas and entered uncharted waters, reaching the edge of the ice shelf. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Diolanda Caballero)

Via USCG public affairs:

MCMURDO STATION, Antarctica — U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) reached the southernmost navigable waters on the planet Feb. 17 while underway in the Bay of Whales, Antarctica.

Polar Star reached a position of 78 degrees, 44 minutes, 1.32 seconds south latitude at 12:55 p.m. New Zealand time, holding a distance of approximately 500 yards from the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, further south than the current Guinness World Record holder.

While underway, Polar Star sailed in waters previously charted as part of the ice shelf that are now navigable waters. Today, portions of the Ross Ice Shelf deviate approximately 12 nautical miles from the positions depicted on official charts.

During Polar Star’s transit to and from the Bay of Whales, Polar Star surveyed 396 nautical miles of the ice shelf for potential future navigational use.

Crewmembers aboard the cutter are working with the staff at Guinness World Records to officially become the new record holders.

Feb. 7, 1997, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea (WAGB 11), Polar Star’s sister ship, reached 78 degrees, 29 minutes south latitude.

In 1908, Ernest Shackleton gave the Bay of Whales its name during the Nimrod Expedition on the basis of the numerous whales he and his crew sighted. Three years later, Roald Amundsen established a base camp in the bay, from which he set out on his successful endeavor to become the first person to reach the South Pole. Years later, U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Richard E. Byrd established Little America in the Bay of Whales during his first, second, and third Antarctic Expeditions, exploring more than 60% of the Antarctic continent.

“The crew of Polar Star is proud to follow in the footsteps of legendary Antarctic explorers like Shackleton, Amundsen, and Byrd,” said Capt. William Woityra, commanding officer of Polar Star. “Even today, more than a century later, we carry on that legacy of exploration, reaching new places, and expanding human understanding of our planet.”