USCGC Polar Star icebreaker makes its way toward McMurdo Sound in Antarctica on Jan. 12, 2026, as part of Operation Deep Freeze 2026. The Polar Star marks 50 years with the Coast Guard on Jan. 17. (Madelyn Greene/U.S. Coast Guard)
The granddaddy of the U.S. Coast Guard fleet is marking its 50th anniversary of service by doing what it does best — breaking ice.
The Polar Star, the Coast Guard’s only heavy icebreaker, arrived this month at McMurdo Sound, in Antarctica, for its annual mission in Operation Deep Freeze to clear channels for supply ships to reach scientific stations at the bottom of the planet.
According to the Coast Guard, the Polar Star can cut through 6-foot-thick ice at a speed of 3 knots. It can break ice up to 21 feet thick by continuously ramming, backing up, then ramming again.
USCGC Polar Star makes transits the Southern Ocean off Antarctica on Jan. 7, 2026, on its way to clear channels to scientific stations on the southernmost continent. (Christopher Bokum/U.S. Coast Guard)
USCGC Polar Star’s crew enjoys an “ice liberty” on the frozen Ross Sea in Antarctica on Jan. 12, 2026. (Christopher Bokum/U.S. Coast Guard)
The crew of the USCGC Polar Star take an “ice liberty” on the Ross Sea in Antarctica on Jan. 12, 2026. (Christopher Bokum/U.S. Coast Guard)
Commissioned on Jan. 17, 1976, the Polar Star becomes one of three fully operational ships in the U.S. military that are more than a half-century old. The USS Blue Ridge, an amphibious command ship homeported at the United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka in Japan, was commissioned in November 1970. The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, homeported at Naval Base Kitsap in Washington State, was commissioned in April 1975.
The 13,500-ton Polar Star left its home port at Coast Guard Base Seattle on Nov. 20.
Capt. Jeff Rasnake, the ship’s commander, said during an interview just before the Polar Star’s departure that he hoped to mark the ship’s “birthday” off Cape Polar Star. The landmark, named for the ship in the 1980s, is on the southwestern tip of Coulman Island, in Antarctica’s Ross Sea.
“If all goes well, we’ll celebrate,” Rasnake said, adding, “She’s an old ship, but she’s a good ship.”
The Polar Star is one of only three oceangoing icebreakers operated by the U.S. government. In addition to the Polar Star, the Coast Guard operates two medium icebreakers, the USCGC Healy and the USCGC Storis, which can cut through up to 8 feet of ice using the ramming method.
The Coast Guard commissioned two heavy icebreakers in the 1970s: the Polar Star in 1976 and its sister ship, the Polar Sea, in 1978. The Polar Sea was retired in 2010 due to severe engine wear.
The Polar Star’s official motto is “Naviget Bene Turbatum Mare,” which translates from Latin to “May she sail well through turbulent seas.”
