Polar Star

Identity and status

POLAR STAR, IMO number 6905745, was a Swedish icebreaker built in 1969. After being converted into an expedition ship, she sailed under the Barbados flag, among others, with Bridgetown as her port of registry. The same hull later bore the name POLAR S; the vessel was decommissioned in 2022 and scrapped in Aliağa.

Expedition voyages

During her expedition phase, Polar Star explored Antarctica and the Arctic seasonally. A voyage announced for 28 December 2009 to 25 January 2010 linked the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands. The operator planned 25 days aboard and 17 days of landings in the Southern Ocean, including seven days on the Antarctic Peninsula; on sea days, naturalists were to point out whales and seabirds from the bridge.

Another example of the program was the Arctic voyage “Remote Coast of East Greenland,” from 26 August to 8 September 2010. The voyage was to begin in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, and explore Greenland’s east coast.

Ship details

Polar Star was 86.5 metres long; in her expedition configuration, she accommodated 105 passengers and had a passenger restaurant. The ship was built by Wärtsilä at the Hietalahti shipyard in Helsinki.