SEATTLE — The Polar Star (WAGB 10), a Seattle-based US Coast Guard Cutter, departed Friday for a months-long deployment to Antarctica.
The Polar Star will be a part of Operation Deep Freeze, a joint military mission to resupply US stations on the frozen continent.
This will be the 28th time the Polar Star will participate in this operation.
“I am thrilled to lead Polar Star back to Antarctica for ODF 25. After months of pre-deployment preparation and working together through various challenges, the cutter and crew are ready to embark on this enduring and critical mission,” said Capt. Jeff Rasnake, Polar Star’s commanding officer. “I couldn’t be prouder of this crew’s tremendous dedication and teamwork. They have met or exceeded all my expectations in the maintenance and training phases and continue to push themselves to build upon those successes as we now shift into the cutter’s operations phase.”
The USCG uses its polar icebreakers fleet as part of its national security strategy and to maintain access to polar regions.
The 48-year-old Polar Star recently completed the fifth and final phase to extend its service life.
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