POLAR STAR USCGC icebreaker

[aukepalmhof]

In 2005 a miniature sheet of stamps, showing icebreakers (I have only
identified the USCGC POLAR STAR and the German POLARSTERN) and penguins, was
issued under the name of the Republic of Congo. In the margins of the sheet are
more images showing Russian icebreakers and Canadian Coast Guard vessels. There
is also an image of a US Coast Guard vessel which could be POLAR SEA or POLAR
STAR.

Name: USCGC Polar Star
Builder: Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Seattle, Washington
Commissioned: 1976
Out of service: Taken to caretaker status, 30 June 2006, reactivated, 11 March
2010
General characteristics
Displacement: 13,194 long tons (13,406 t)
Length: 399 ft (122 m)
Beam: 83 ft 6 in (25.45 m)
Ice class: 6 ft (1.8 m) at 3 kn (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) continuous
21 ft (6.4 m) backing and ramming
Propulsion: diesel electric or gas turbine
Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Range: 28,275 nmi (52,365 km; 32,538 mi)
Complement: 141
Aircraft carried: 2 HH-65A Dolphin helicopters

Polar Star is an outstanding Polar icebreaker with exceptional hull design,
power, strength and weight. The design, which was the result of three years of
research and testing, incorporates a number of innovative features that affect
nearly every aspect of operations. Equipment on board is highly sophisticated.
Polar Star uses four different methods of electronic navigation to overcome the
difficulties of high-latitude operations, and a computerized propulsion control
system to effectively manage six diesel-powered propulsion generators, three
diesel-powered ship's service generators, three propulsion gas turbines, and
other equipment vital to the smooth operation of the ship. The extensive use of
automation and low maintenance materials have greatly reduced staffing
requirements.

Polar Star's three shafts are turned by either a diesel-electric or gas turbine
power plant. Each shaft is connected to a 16-foot (4.9 m) diameter, four-bladed,
controllable-pitch propeller. The diesel-electric plant can produce 18,000 shaft
horsepower (13 MW) and the gas turbine plant a total of 75,000 shaft horsepower
(56 MW).

Polar Star has sufficient hull strength to absorb the high-powered ice ramming
common to her operations. The shell plating and associated internal support
structure are fabricated from steel that has especially good low-temperature
strength. The portion of the hull design to ram ice is 1-3/4 inches (45 mm)
thick in the bow and stern sections, and 1-1/4 inches (32 mm) thick amidships.
The hull strength is produced almost entirely from the massive internal support
structure. Polar Star's hull shape is designed to maximize icebreaking by
efficiently combining the forces of the ship's forward motion, the downward pull
of gravity on the bow, and the upward push of the inherent buoyancy of the
stern. The curved bow allows Polar Star to ride up on the ice; then the bow is
levered through the ice like a giant sledgehammer.

With such a sturdy hull and high power to back it up, the 13,000-ton (13,200
metric ton) Polar Star is able to ram her way through ice up to 21 feet (6 m)
thick and steam continuously through 6 feet (1.8 m) of ice at 3 knots (6 km/h).

Polar Star has other unique engineering features designed to aid in icebreaking.
At one point, an installed heeling system could rock the ship to prevent getting
stuck in the ice. The system consisted of three pairs of connected tanks on
opposite sides of the ship. Pumps transferred a tank's contents of 35,000 US
gallons (133 m³) to an opposing tank in 50 seconds and generate 24,000 foot-tons
(65 MN•m) of torque on the ship. This system has since been removed due to
maintenance issues, but needless to say that kind of force goes a long way in
rocking Polar Star loose from any tight spots.

Duty on an icebreaker is long and strenuous, especially when it involves being
away from homeport for up to eight months out of the year. Careful consideration
has been given to meet the needs of Polar Star's crew of 15 officers and 126
enlisted. The ship has four sizable lounges, a library, a gymnasium, and a small
ship's store. It also has its own U.S. Post Office, satellite pay telephones,
amateur radio equipment, a computer lounge (for Internet access, distance
learning, et cetera), and movie library. Bright colours and modern decor differ
sharply from traditional military shipboard drabness.

Polar Star can accommodate two HH-65 Dolphin helicopters during major
deployments. They support scientific parties, do ice reconnaissance, cargo
transfer, and search and rescue as required. The Aviation Detachment used to
come from the Polar Operations Division at Coast Guard Aviation Training Center,
Mobile, Alabama, but POPDIV has since been disbanded due to an overhaul on the
HH-65 Dolphin airframe.

Polar Star has a variety of missions while operating in polar regions. During
Antarctic deployments, the primary missions include breaking a channel through
the sea ice to resupply the McMurdo Research Station in the Ross Sea. Resupply
ships use the channel to bring food, fuel, and other goods to make it through
another winter. In addition, to these duties, Polar Star also serves as a
scientific research platform with five laboratories and accommodations for up to
20 scientists. The "J"-shaped cranes and work areas near the stern and port side
of ship give scientists the capability to do at-sea studies in the fields of
geology, vulcanology, oceanography, sea-ice physics and other disciplines.

Operations in the remote, hazardous and unforgiving polar regions make it
necessary for the crew of Polar Star to be highly self sufficient. The crew
consists of personnel trained in navigation, engineering, welding, machinery
repair, electronics, boat handling, firefighting, damage control, diving,
medicine, and nearly every other kind of special skill that could possibly be
needed.

Reserve status and Reactivation.

On June 30, 2006, Polar Star was placed in a "Commission-Special" status in
Seattle, WA. This caretaker status requires the reduced crew of 34 to keep the
ship ready for a possible return to the ice, but with the mounting maintenance
issues onboard, a decision to finance a major renovation or decommission the
ship needs to be made. The current commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Admiral
Thad Allen, has made it one of his top three priorities to find a resolution to
the current state of the Polar Icebreaking program.

The Navy Times reports that a refit reactivating the Polar Star for a further 25
years of duty would cost $400 million USD. A refit sufficient to reactivate the
Polar Star for eight to ten years necessary to build a replacement would cost
$56 million USD. A refit sufficient to reactivate the Polar Star for a single
season would cost $8.2 million USD.

The Navy Times explained that the National Science Foundation had been
contributing much of the cost of maintaining the vessels, because their primary
responsibility was scientific. But that, starting in 2009, the National Science
Foundation would no longer be contributing to the Polar Star's upkeep, putting
the vessel's future in question.

The United States Coast Guard plans to reactivate the Polar Star by 2013, after
being refitted by Todd Pacific Shipyards.

Conga 2005 800F sg?, Scott?
Sierra Leone 2016 Le 24000 sgMS?, Scott? (she is the icebreaker in the margin on the left, the other is the LOUIS S. ST-LAURENT)
Niger 2021 3300f sgMS?, Scott?

Sources: Wikipedia. http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/cgcPolarStar/History.asp.

Peter Crichton