Overview
- The Australian luxury cruise ship Scenic Eclipse II became stuck in dense pack ice about eight nautical miles from McMurdo Sound and radioed for help at 11 p.m. local time on January 17 with roughly 200 passengers aboard.
- According to the Coast Guard, Polar Star executed two close maneuvers to break the vessel free and then escorted it about four nautical miles to open water.
- Scenic Cruises said the ship did not require rescue services, coordination with the icebreaker enabled safe egress, and passenger safety was maintained throughout.
- The assistance occurred during Polar Star’s 29th Antarctic deployment under Operation Deep Freeze; the 13,500‑ton cutter can break roughly 1.8 meters of ice at 3 knots and ram thicker ice.
- The incident follows U.S. approval in December 2024 to build a new Polar Security Cutter in Pascagoula, Mississippi, to modernize heavy icebreaking capacity.