The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia) has requested the US Coast Guard’s Polar Star icebreaker to assist the vessels MV Akademik Shokalskiy and Xue Long that are beset by ice in Commonwealth Bay.
The US Coast Guard (USCG) has accepted RCC Australia's request and will make Polar Star available to assist.
Shipping Channel to Research Station
The Polar Star has been en route to Antarctica since 3 December 2013 – weeks prior to the MV Akademik Shokalskiy being beset by ice in Commonwealth Bay. The intended mission of the Polar Star is to clear a navigable shipping channel in McMurdo Sound to the National Science Foundation’s Scientific Research Station.
Resupply ships use the channel to bring food, fuel and other goods to the station. The Polar Star will go on to undertake its mission once the search and rescue incident is resolved.
Polar Star En Route
The Polar Star left Sydney on 5 January after taking on supplies prior to its voyage to Antarctica. It is anticipated it will take approximately seven days for the Polar Star to reach Commonwealth Bay, dependent on weather and ice conditions.
Polar Star Ice Breaking Particulars
At 122 metres, the Polar Star is one of the largest ships in the US Coast Guard fleet. It has a range of 16,000 nautical miles at 18 knots. The Polar Star has a crew of 140 people. The Polar Star is able to continuously break ice up to 1.8 metres while travelling at three knots and can break ice over six metres thick.
Picture: The USCG Polar Star plows through ice in Antarctic waters (by USCG)
