The only working US heavy icebreaker catches fire returning from Antarctica
It could be another decade before the 43-year-old polar vessel has a replacement.
The crew of the Polar Star, the only operable U.S. heavy polar icebreaker, had completed this season’s annual resupply mission to Antarctica despite a bevy of difficulties: an electrical system began smoking, one of two evaporators used for making drinking water broke, a shaft on the propeller began leaking, and there were ship-wide power outages.
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