M/T Maersk Peary Arrives at McMurdo Station Beginning Military Sealift Command’s Operation Deep Freeze 2022 Support

CA, UNITED STATES

02.02.2022

Story by Sarah Cannon 

Military Sealift Command Pacific

Military Sealift Command chartered ship MT Maersk Peary arrived at McMurdo Station, Antarctica and is currently offloading nearly 9 million gallons of diesel and jet fuel in support of the Operation Deep Freeze 2022 resupply mission.

Peary arrived safely at the ice-pier at McMurdo Station, following a voyage from Greece that began before Christmas, and immediately began the offload of fuel, working with the Navy Cargo Handling Battalion ONE already on the ice.

Over the next five days, Peary will deliver nearly 8 million gallons of diesel fuel and over 800 thousand gallons of aviation fuel. This combination of fuels is 100 percent of the fuel needed for the next year’s support of the remote outpost at McMurdo Station.

The delivery is nearly double what was delivered in 2019, due in part to the 2020 ODF mission being canceled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Operation Deep Freeze is a joint service, on-going Defense Support to Civilian Authorities activity in support of the National Science Foundation (NSF), lead agency for the United States Antarctic Program. Mission support consists of active duty, Guard and Reserve personnel from the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army, and Coast Guard as well as Department of Defense civilians and attached non-DOD civilians. ODF operates from two primary locations situated at Christchurch, New Zealand and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. 2022 marks MSC’s return to support of ODF which was paused in 2021 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. An MSC-chartered cargo ship and tanker have made the challenging voyage to Antarctica every year since the station and its resupply mission were established in 1955.

• Date Taken: 02.02.2022
• Date Posted: 02.02.2022 13:18
• Story ID: 413871
• Location: CA, US