The Seattle-based Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB-10) made a logistics stop in Juneau, Alaska, earlier this month as the crew nears the end of their months-long Arctic deployment conducting scientific research and protecting U.S. maritime sovereignty and security throughout the polar region.

In addition to Polar Star’s strategic national security objectives, the nation’s sole heavy icebreaker sailed north with scientists and researchers aboard to work in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), NOAA, University of Washington, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) to gather data, lessen the void of information from the region, and better understand how to operate year-round in Arctic waters.

The Coast Guard will likely deploy more platforms to the Arctic in the future.