USCGC Polar Star (WAGB 10) assists Motor Vessel Plantijngracht’s arrival to McMurdo Station by escorting them through ice in Winter Quarters Bay amid Operation Deep Freeze 2026, Feb. 4, 2026. The U.S. is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, one in which the U.S. National Science Foundation-sponsored research and science programs can be conducted for the betterment of all humanity. (U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Bokum)