“Isn’t that a little outside their jurisdiction? Didn’t we have any US Navy in the area? “
Maybe the USN doesn’t have any icebreakers or at least one the size of the Polar Star. Just wondering what it’s doing in Sydney , unless the USCG works Antartica because we have research people there.
The U.S. Navy used to have polar icebreakers, I believe the last two were the USS GLACIER AND USS EDISTO. These platforms were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard and the newer Wind class vessels were, I believe, Coast Guard from the beginning. Congress gave polar icebreaker duties to the Coast Guard sometime during the 1940s. In the 1970s two new polar icebreakers, USCGC POLAR STAR and USCGC POLAR SEA were commissioned and as time proceeded, the Wind class vessels were decommissioned. The newest polar icebreaker, USCGC HEALY is the only construction icebreaker in the fleet.
So the Navy doesn’t conduct polar icebreaking operations, that responsibility falls solely to the U.S. Coast Guard, the most professional of the three seagoing services.
U S Military has no personnel based in Antarctic. Coast Guard only U S presence. God bless them on this dangerous mission.