Cargo Resupply Mission to U.S. Antarctic Station Completed

Military Sealift Command Pacific reports the 2026 cargo resupply mission for U.S. Antarctica operations has been completed. They note that MSC has been sending chartered cargo ships each year to the McMurdo Station since the operation was established in 1955.

The cargo portion of this year’s operation was carried out with the Dutch heavylift vessel Plantijngracht (19,330 dwt) operated by Spliethoff. The vessel departed Port Hueneme, California, in early January after loading this year’s cargo shipments. 

The Plantijngracht arrived in Winter Quarters Bay, Antarctica, on February 4, after a stop in New Zealand. The first part of the mission, which is known as Operation Deep Freeze, was the offloading of a 65-ton floating Modular Causeway System (MCS). MSC reports it was being used instead of the traditional ice pier this year due to the size and weight of the ship’s cargo. 

Once the system was in place and secure, the Plantijngracht began the offloading of 372 pieces of cargo. The operation included members of the Navy Cargo Handling Battalion ONE and consisted of containers filled with dry goods and supplies needed for the year’s survival at the remote Antarctic outpost. Offloading all the material required two weeks.

Following the offload, the Plantijngracht was loaded with containers of retrograde cargo for transportation off the continent. This includes trash and recyclable materials for disposal and equipment no longer required at the station. It also removed the landing system that had been put in place for the cargo operation.

Before departing McMurdo Station, the Plantijngracht was also loaded with ice core samples that will be stored on the ship in a sub-zero freezer. The ice core samples will be delivered to the United States for scientific study.

The Plantijngracht departed on February 18 and will make stops in Christchurch, New Zealand, and Yokohama, Japan, where it will offload the MCS. It will then proceed to Port Hueneme, California, where it will offload the retrograde cargo and ice core samples.

This year’s cargo operation was the first in years to use a foreign-flag vessel. In recent years, the operation has been handled by two American-flagged vessels, Ocean Giant and Ocean Gladiator (each 17,500 dwt). Plantijngracht is slightly larger than the U.S. vessels.

Another part of this year’s resupply mission included the delivery of fuel aboard the tanker Stena Polaris. The vessel was spotted on the Arctic webcam at the end of January, arriving at the base. It was aided in its transit by the USCG icebreaker Polar Star.