From the March, 15 Congressional Research Service report: Coast Guard polar icebreakers perform a variety of missions supporting U.S. interests in polar regions. The Coast Guard’s two existing heavy polar icebreakers— Polar Star and Polar Sea — have exceeded their originally intended 30-year service lives. Polar Star was placed in caretaker status on July 1, 2006. Congress in FY2009 and FY2010 provided funding to repair it and returnit to service for an additional 7 to 10 years of service; the repair work was completed and the ship was reactivated on December 14, 2012.