The Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, the only heavy icebreaker in America’s fleet, suffered an engine failure and flooding in a recent mission in the Antarctic. The crew was able to shut down the engine that failed and separately solve the flooding, but the two incidents point out the mechanical problems involved in maintaining the 399-foot-long ship that was commissioned in 1976.
The Polar Star’s mission was to deliver fuel and supplies to National Science Foundation research stations in the Antarctic, involving cutting a path through ice in the Ross Sea that was up to 10-feet thick. The crew had to shut down one of the ship’s three gas turbine engines when trouble developed between the engine’s programming and the ship’s aging electrical system. The second problem developed when a shaft seal failed and the engine room flooded. The crew stopped the flow using an emergency shaft seal. The Polar Star was able to complete its mission.
Either an engine failure or flooding could be catastrophic. “If the Polar Star were to suffer a catastrophic mechanical failure, the nation would not be able to support heavy icebreaker missions like Operation Deep Freeze (resupplying the NSF stations), and our nation has no vessel capable of rescuing the crew if the icebreakers were to fail in the ice,” said Vice Admiral Fred Midgette, commander, U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area.
The Coast Guard plans to build new heavy icebreakers, but the first one isn’t scheduled to be launched until 2023. Russia, meanwhile, has almost 40 icebreakers in service now, with five more under construction. Read more:
https://www.marinelink.com/news/icebreaker-antarctic433755
