The Ships

AOS_SR96_23
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engines supply three propulsion motors that can deliver a total of 30,000 hp

to the three shafts. The Louis S. St-Laurent used an average of 15,000 hp on

the northbound transit; occasional boosts of power to 25,000 hp were required

in heavier ice conditions. The ship carried two BO 105-BS4 helicopters for ice

reconnaissance and science support. Her total crew for this mission was 61,

including the helicopter pilots and mechanic; the science party was 35.

The CTD/rosette, equipped with 36 ten-liter bottles, was deployed from

the boat deck, starboard side. The rosette lab, a joined 16- 20-ft container,

was immediately forward of the deployment point, and the CTD lab, an 8-

12-ft container, immediately aft. Ice work, including access to the ice, was

from the foredeck, which was serviced by two cranes. Net hauls, pump deploy-

ments and box cores were done from the foredeck, starboard side. One winch

serviced the net hauls and pumps, while two winches (working in tandem on

deep casts) serviced the box core. Sample processing on the foredeck was done

in an 8- 12-ft container. All other laboratories were interior to the ship.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea is a 122-m icebreaker of 13,600-

ton displacement based in Seattle, Washington, and is one of two Polar Class

ships, the largest icebreakers in the U.S. The ship has three variable-pitch

propellers. Each shaft can be powered by one or two diesels of 3,000 hp each

(18,000 hp total in full diesel-electric mode) or by a turbine that can supply

20,000 hp in a sustained mode (60,000 hp total in an all-turbine configura-

tion). Only the diesel-electric plant was used during the first portion of the

voyage, but 50 nautical miles from the North Pole the loss of the blade on the

starboard propeller necessitated the use of a gas turbine on the centerline shaft,

boosting her total power to 26,000 hp. The ship carried two HH-65A helicop-

ters for ice reconnaissance and science support. Her total crew for this mission

was 142, including the aviation detachment; the science party numbered 35.

The CTD/rosette, equipped with 24 ten-liter bottles, was deployed from

the main deck, port side, as were the plankton nets. The rosette lab was an

enclosed, fixed, 16- 14-ft shipboard installation located immediately for-

ward of the deployment area. Ice work, including diving, was done from the

starboard side aft, either using a platform swung from the flight deck by crane

or from the main deck using the gangway. All box and piston coring was done