The Polar Star escorting the tanker Stena Polaris through the prepared channel(Coast Guard Pacific Area Facebook photo).
The Polar Star escorting the tanker Stena Polaris through the prepared channel
A rather complex and interesting sealift is underway! The star of this evolution is of course the 50-year-old Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star. The first of three sealift vessels to enter Winter Quarters Bay was the tanker seen above...US flagged and owned by Crowley Government Services. But...other stuff was happening. The Australian-owned cruise ship Scenic Eclipse II encountered some rough ice, and the Polar Star had to help it out on 17 January (DVIDS video and a 26 January Seapower Magazine article (link and PDF). But that wasn't the only Coast Guard evolution...on 13 January, French science diver Gerald Malaussena failed to return after a routine dive under the sea ice near Dumont d’Urville, and 4 members of the US Coast Guard traveled to that French research station with ROVs and were able to recover the diver's body more than a week after he was
lost (ExplorersWeb article).
The first visible activity at Ross Island was the arrival of the tanker Stena Polaris at McMurdo...here (above left) on 21 January approaching the ice pier, which was used to support the fueling operations. Off in the distance is the Polar Star. The tanker is US flagged, owned by Crowley Government Services. It delivered 400 thousand gallons of diesel (AN8), 400 thousand gallons of JP5 aviation fuel, and 126 thousand gallons of MOGAS (gasoline) which had been loaded in Greece... enough for 2 years, so no need for a tanker next year. Here's another good arrival photo shared by the Antarctican Society...and two good articles--this 30 January story from DVIDS, and a 6 February article from the AMO (American Maritime Officers Union with excellent photos of the tanker.
Meanwhile, the new barge pier Discovery which had been built in Portland, OR (my coverage) had been towed south to Lyttelton by the tug Rachel. Below, two photos of the tug and barge in the harbor by Graham Sutherland, from the Ship Spotters New Zealand Facebook group.
Meanwhile, here's the cargo vessel Plantijngracht in Lyttelton on 25 January (Lyttelton Port Company photo). Additional cargo for the ice was loaded here. Interestingly perhaps, the vessel is flagged in The Netherlands, not in the US as has been typical in the past. It turns out that when the US MSC issued a request for the cargo vessel, no US-flagged vessels were available in the time frame required. After all, the vessel must be self-unloading, as McMurdo is not equipped with tthe cranes and container handling equipment found at modern ports. This 16 January gCaptain article discusses this along with coverage and a photo of the vessel being loaded in Port Hueneme.
Back at McMurdo, on 2 February. after the departure of the tanker, the ice pier was turned loose (left), to be towed away by the Polar Star to make way for the mobile causeway...which was delivered by Plantijngracht which showed up on 4 February.
7 February...the mobile pontoon causeway is being assembled. Here's a 12 February Department of War article with photos of the evolution.
14 February, looks like the offload is nearly done...time to load the trash and garbage (and ice cores etc.) At right are the struts that will attach the new barge pier to the anchor points on shore.
Here's a closer look at the struts (Michael Christiansen photo).
A different view of the Plantijngracht from another angle (photo from Zeke Mills). Not sure when it left McMurdo, but it was back at Lyttelton on 25 February.
The tug Rachel towing the new barge pier Discovery is in sight! Here is a greatNext...the installation of the Discovery Pier (coming soon, I've been traveling but have the photos). All uncredited photos are from the McMurdo pier webcam.
