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    Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star break ice as the cutter transits through the McMurdo Sound near Antarctica on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area
    Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star break ice as the cutter transits through the McMurdo Sound near Antarctica on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area

    National

    Video shows Seattle-based Coast Guard icebreaker busting path to Antarctica

    By Craig Hill

    chill@thenewstribune.com

    February 07, 2018 08:57 AM

    A Seattle-based U.S. Coast Guard ship is on its way home after a busting a path through thick ice to Antarctica’s McMurdo Station.

    Video of the Polar Star’s work was recently posted online and shows the 399-foot, 14,000-ton ship breaking a path through ice that was 10-feet thick in places, according to a KING-TV report. The path is needed so research ships to access McMurdo.

    The mission, which started in November, has overcome several incidents. The shaft seal failed flooding the engine room with 20 gallons of water per minute, KING-TV reports. The crew also resolved the failure of three turbines.

    The Polar Star is the Coast Guard’s only heavy icebreaker. The crew is expected to return to Seattle in March.

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    Craig Hill: 253-597-8497, @AdventureGuys

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