Business Insider: The Coast Guard's only heavy icebreaker has been fighting engine failure and flooding in the frigid Antarctic
* The Polar Star travels south every year to break open a resupply channel to McMurdo Station in Antarctica.
* The aging Polar Star encountered several problems during the journey this year.
* The crew resolved the issues, but the harsh conditions take a heavy toll on the 41-year-old icebreaker.
The US Coast Guard's only operational heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, recently completed a mission to cut a resupply channel through Antarctic ice in the Ross Sea, but the ship's 150-strong crew grappled with engine failure and flooding during the trip.
The Seattle-based Polar Star left port in December for Antarctica to support Operation Deep Freeze 2018, the US military's contribution to the US Antarctic Program, which is run by the National Science Foundation. The Polar Star was charged with clearing a path through 15 miles of ice — some of it up to 10 feet thick.
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Update #1: Only U.S. Heavy Icebreaker Is Falling Apart On Antarctic Mission (Warzone/The Drive)
Update #2: US Icebreaker Suffers Flooding, Engine Failure in Antarctic (Marine Link)
WNU Editor: Maybe there is some money here for some new heavy icebreakers .... A budget the likes of which the Pentagon has never seen (AP).
