Watch: Antarctic Dive Ops with USCGC Polar Star

Members of the army dive group assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard heavy icebreaker Polar Star, examine the cutter’s propellers whereas it’s hove-to within the ice within the Ross Sea, January 30, 2015. The dive was to examine of Polar Star’s hull and propellers to test for injury incurred whereas breaking ice.

Within per week of this inspection, the USCGC Polar Star could be despatched to free an Australian fishing vessel with 26 folks on board that turned caught in thick ice off McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, a 330-mile trek away by way of heavy ice, snow and wind. Before being diverted, the 150-person crew of Polar Star was deployed to McMurdo Station, Antarctica as a part of Operation Deep Freeze.

The 399-foot Polar Star is sort of 40-years outdated and the nation’s solely heavy icebreaker able to working within the thick Antarctic ice.