The CGC POLAR STAR, a 399 ft icebreaker, was built and commissioned in Seattle, WA, its current homeport, in 1976. It was designed as a state of the art Polar Class icebreaker in the world. The main mission of POLAR STAR and her sister ship, CGC POLAR SEA is to participate in Operation Deep Freeze. The goal of this mission is to break a channel through multiple feet of ice into McMurdo Station, the United States science research station in Antarctica, to re-supply the station for the next year. During these six-month deployments, POLAR STAR also serves as an underway scientific research platform, taking science parties to previously inaccessible waters.