USCG Icebreaker “Polar Star” Completes 138-Day Expedition “Operation Deep Freeze” To Antarctica

Having completed a 138-day deployment to Antarctica on 31 March to support Operation “Deep Freeze 2024,” the US Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10), the only functional US heavy icebreaker, is just about to embark on phase four of the five-year Service Life Extension Project (popularly known as SLEP) in California’s Vallejo, USCG officials reported on 4 April.

Mare Island Dry Dock is doing the SLEP work to recapitalize critical systems, including the propulsion, machinery control systems, and communication, and conduct significant maintenance to extend the service life of the cutter, USCG officials said.

The USCG plans to mitigate risks related to lost operational days owing to unplanned maintenance or system failures by replacing obsolete, maintenance-intensive, or unsupportable equipment.

Polar Star is 50 years old and needs SLEP work to keep it deployed for polar missions.

USCG Cutter Healy (WAGB 20), the sole US medium icebreaker, was introduced in 1997 and is also about to undergo a five-year service life extension.

The aim for both Healy and Polar Star is the same—to carry out high-level operations with medium and heavy icebreaking during the construction of the Polar Security Cutters (PSCs), Rear Adm. Chad Jacoby, the USCG CAO, said on 5 March during the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) Arctic and Antarctic Operations Symposium 2024 in Maryland.

Reference: Janes

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