POLAR STAR ANTARCTIC TRIP 2006 ANTARCTIC (Feb. 16, 2006)--USCGC Polar Star icebreaker sits hove-to outside McMurdo Station, Antarctica. USCG photo by PA2 Mariana O'Leary. The Polar Star can bust through ice up to 21 feet (6.4 meters) thick and steam continuously through 6 feet (1.8 meters) of ice at 3 knots (5.6 kph). The Polar Star was commissioned in 1976 and after 30 years is nearing the end of its designed service life.
The Polar Star and her sister ship, w:en:USCGC Polar Sea, along with the w:en:USCGC Healy, are the only polar icebreakers in the U.S fleet. A 2005 U.S. National Science Foundation report reccommends considering a commercial business model for icebreaking service to McMurdo that would be backed up by U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers.
Transwiki approved by: w:en:User:Dmcdevit This image was copied from wikipedia:en. The original description was: ==Summary== POLAR STAR ANTARCTIC TRIP 2006 ANTARCTIC (Feb. 16, 2006)--USCGC Polar Star icebreaker sits hove-to outside McMurdo Station,
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