polar sea portcall
With Douglas Island as background, the 399 foot-long US Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea makes way in Gastineau Channel Wednesday afternoon in prepartion to mooring to to Cruise Ship Dock in Downtown Juneau. The 13,000 ton displacement icebreaker and her crew are taking a four-day break in the Capital City before heading south to conclude an 101-day long patrol at her homeport of Seattle, Washington. The Polar Sea and her sister cutter, Polar Star are America's most powerful icebreakers. By using the 75,000 horsepower produced by three gas turbine engines, the Polar Sea and Polar Stat are capable of ramming and breaking as much as 21 foot-thick sea ice. This mission was the first ocean science mission in a decade for the Polar Sea -- the cutter was manned by Coast Guard personnel who supported several teams of scientists who conducted multiple research studies.


