The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, the nation's only operable heavy icebreaker, returns to their homeport of Seattle from a 101-day Antarctic deployment, March 10, 2015.
The crew deployed in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2015, a multi-agency operation managed by the National Science Foundation.
U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 3rd Class Amanda Norcross.
Family members and friends of crewmembers assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, a heavy icebreaker, welcome the crew home to Seattle following a 101-day Antarctic deployment, March 10, 2015.
Polar Star will spend the summer months in dry dock preparing for next year's resupply mission of McMurdo Station, a U.S. Antarctic research center on the south tip of Ross Island.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Amanda Norcross.
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, a heavy icebreaker, returns to their homeport of Seattle from a 101-day Antarctic deployment, March 10, 2015.
During the operation, the crew of Polar Star escorted a cargo vessel and a fuel tanker to McMurdo Station, Antarctica, before responding to a search and rescue case 900 miles northeast of McMurdo Sound.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Amanda Norcross.
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star, a high-endurance icebreaker, returns to their homeport of Coast Guard Base Seattle from a 101-day Antarctic deployment, March 10, 2015.
After leaving McMurdo Station, Antarctica, the crew successfully rescued 26 fisherman trapped in a heavy ice pack and towed their vessel, the Australian-flagged Antarctic Chieftain, through about 60 miles of pack ice to open water where the vessel's crew could again maneuver.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Amanda Norcross.
To learn more about Polar Star's Antarctic deployment and view more imagery, please click here.