Page 12: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (March 2018)

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About the Author

Dennis L. Bryant is with Bryant’s Mari-

GOVERNMENT UPDATE time Consulting, and a regular contribu- tor to Maritime Reporter & Engineering

The U.S. Government must

News as well as online at MaritimePro- fessional.com. t: 1 352 692 5493 e: [email protected]

Fund Icebreakers

Congress last funded the purchase of

Now polar icebreakers for the US Coast Guard in the early 1970s. The USCCG Polar

Star (WAGB-10) was commissioned in 1976, followed by the USCGC Polar

Sea (WAGB-11) in 1977. Polar Sea has been out of service since 2010 due to a

Congress last funded the purchase of polar icebreakers major engine failure. Polar Star was ‘in for the U.S. Coast Guard in the early 1970s commission, special’ status from 2008 through 2012 while undergoing a service life extension. It is currently the only active heavy polar icebreaker in the US ? eet. The less capable USCGC Healy (WAGB-20) is a medium icebreaker and is equipped to support research missions in polar waters.

Polar Star is now 42 years of age. That is old for any ship, even one that has gone through a service life extension.

Polar icebreakers operate in extreme conditions. Polar Star regularly uses its three 25,000 horsepower gas turbine engines to drive its 13,000 ton hull into pack ice. If the ice is thick and hard, and if there is little open water nearby, as is often the case, the icebreaker is brought to a halt in less than a ship-length. The of? cer of the deck reverses thrust be- fore the icebreaker is fully halted, goes astern several hundred yards, and rams the ice again at full power. This process continues until the ice is broken and the ship can proceed. Even when the ice is thinner and the cutter can run continu- ously, the stresses on the hull, propellers, shafts, and engines are intense. This ac- tivity has been repeated over and over again for all but the four years of the ser- vice life extension.

On Polar Star’s current deployment to the Antarctic in support of Operation 12 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • MARCH 2018

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