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The Military Sealift Command chartered ship MV Ocean Giant is conducting a cargo offload of supplies at McMurdo Station, Antarctica in support of the annual resupply mission Operation Deep Freeze 2025.
Ocean Giant arrived at McMurdo Station Jan. 26 and began the assembly and offload off a floating Marine Causeway System. The causeway, made-up of 24-foot pieces, replaces the ice-pier at McMurdo Station this year. Previously, an ice pier made up of rebar and frozen seawater, has been used for cargo offloads. Due to severe damage, the ice-pier is unusable this year.
Once the causeway was assembled and moved into place, Ocean Giant was able to moor and begin the cargo operations. The ship’s crew and members of Navy Cargo Handling Battalion ONE began the offload of 380 pieces of cargo, consisting of containers filled with mechanical parts, vehicles, construction materials, office supplies and electronics equipment, and mobile office units; supplies needed to sustain the next year of operations at McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Once the offload is complete, Ocean Giant will be loaded with 360 containers of retrograde cargo for transportation off the continent. This includes trash and recyclable materials for disposal and equipment no longer required on the station. They will then depart McMurdo station, en route the United States.
Following Ocean Giant’s departure, MSC chartered ship MV Ocean Gladiator will arrive at the ice-pier, and will begin a cargo offload as well as retrieving the causeway.
“Operating in the remote and challenging environment of Antarctica is unique to the ODF mission,” said Marie Morrow, MSC’s representative in Antarctica. “Everyone involved has an important role to play and it is truly a joint mission. The ship operation takes teamwork and coordination from the ship’s crew, all elements of the Joint Task Force (United States Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Air National Guard), civilian contractors, and New Zealand Defense Force integrated into cargo operations. Everyone working on ODF has been a consummate professional and are committed to the success of the mission. I feel really fortunate to be a part of this year’s team.”
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. 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: | 02.06.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.06.2025 11:20 |
| Story ID: | 490246 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 86 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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