Coast Guard Icebreaker Polar Star in McMurdo Sound in Antarctica – By Caitlyn Burchett January 12, 2026 5:27 PM

Polar Star made it to the McMurdo Sound, having left more than 50 days ago from Seattle, Wash., a defense official confirmed Monday to USNI News. Polar Star is cutting through the 23-mile channel, carving a path through ice that can be up to 10 feet thick to allow a convoy of ships to resupply McMurdo Station through the next year.

McMurdo Sound is an icy bay that is known as the southernmost passable body of water in the world and is a vital route for Antarctic supply ships.

As part of the annual Operation Deep Freeze, Polar Star is responsible for breaking the ice and creating an open-water channel to enable the delivery of food, fuel and equipment to McMurdo Station, which serves as the main U.S. research base in Antarctica.

The heavy icebreaker departed Nov. 20 from Seattle, Wash., for the ship’s annual deployment to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze. Typically, the icebreaker departs in late November and returns to its homeport in early April, having reached McMurdo Station in early-to-mid January.

This year’s journey from Washington to Antarctica marks Polar Star’s 29th Deep Freeze deployment.

Commissioned in 1976, Polar Star is 399 feet, weighing 13,500 tons with a 34-foot draft. Despite nearly 50 years of age, Polar Star remains the world’s most powerful non-nuclear icebreaker with the ability to produce up to 75,000 shaft horsepower.