Cruise Ship Trapped in Thick Ice Near Antarctica Rescued by U.S. Coast Guard 'Icebreaker' Vessel

Photo: US Coast Guard

A luxury cruise ship got stuck in a sheet of ice while sailing near Antarctica, prompting a heroic rescue from the United States Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Polar Star

The Scenic Eclipse II was making its way through the Ross Sea when it got trapped in the ice on Saturday, Jan. 17. In video footage obtained by PEOPLE of the Coast Guard’s rescue, the USCGC Polar Star can be seen cutting through the ice sheet as it makes its way towards the stranded ship. 

Meanwhile, the ship — owned by Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours — is shown far off in the distance, immobile. The small vessel can hold up to 228 passengers and 176 crew members, according to its website.

In the video, large cracks are seen forming in the ice as the USCGC Polar Star sails towards the luxury cruise ship, making it possible to pass through and finally arrive at the Scenic Eclipse II’s location. 

The Coast Guard’s vessel circles the ship, ripping through the ice. The cruise ship can be seen beginning to move backward and forward as it frees itself. The Polar Star then creates a path of open water for the ship to sail through, allowing it to finally follow the icebreaker out of harms way. 

According to a Jan. 23 press release detailing the incident, the U.S. Coast Guard helped "free and escort" the cruise ship that was "trapped in pack ice."

"The Australian-owned cruise ship Scenic Eclipse II contacted Polar Star at approximately 11 p.m., local time Friday after becoming beset in pack ice roughly eight nautical miles from McMurdo Sound," the release adds. "Polar Star’s crew conducted two close passes to break the vessel free, then escorted it approximately four nautical miles to open water."

According to a post shared on the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area’s official Instagram account, the rescue happened to occur on the USCGC Polar Star’s 50th birthday. 

The vessel, which was commissioned on Jan. 17th, 1976, was sailing to Antarctica for Operation Deep Freeze 2026. It’s the “most powerful ship in the U.S. Coast Guard” and the United States' “only heavy icebreaker,” per the USGC’s website.  

Operation Deep Freeze is an annual mission that sees the USCGC Polar Star travel to Antarctica through the Ross Sea to “resupply the United States Antarctic stations in support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program,” according to a Nov. 26 press release. 

The release emphasizes that the Polar Star is the “only U.S. vessel capable of breaking a navigable channel through the ice to reach McMurdo Station, the largest Antarctic station and the logistics hub of the U.S. Antarctic Program." 

It departed for its months-long mission on Thursday, Nov. 20, from its homeport in Seattle.

Source: people.com