The U.S Coast Guard’s most powerful ship and the country’s only heavy icebreaker freed a luxury cruise ship from thick Antarctic ice.

The Scenic Eclipse II was sailing through the Ross Sea when it became stuck in ice on January 17, 2026.

Owned by Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours, the vessel can accommodate 228 passengers and 176 crew members.

Per reports, the cruise ship contacted the U.S Coast Guard Cutter at 11 p.m., local time Friday, after it became trapped in ice nearly 8 nautical miles from McMurdo Sound.

The crew of Polar Star conducted two close passes to break the vessel free, then escorted it 4 nautical miles to open water.

This was a special occasion as it was also the USCGC Polar Star’s 50th birthday.

Polar Star, commissioned on January 17, 1976, was sailing to Antarctica for Operation Deep Freeze 2026.

This mission is undertaken by the vessel every year to take essential supplies to the US. Antarctic stations working for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program.

The Polar Star is the only U.S. vessel that can break through the ice and reach the McMurdo Station, the largest Antarctic station and the logistics centre of the U.S. Antarctic Program.

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