Iceport
![Ice breaker research vessel using the iceport at Bay of Whales.](/Images/godic/202501/19/WhalesBayIceShelf0157.jpg")
.svg0157.png")
An iceport is a more-or-less permanent indentation in the front of an ice shelf, that can serve as a natural ice harbor. Though useful, they are not always reliable, as calving of surrounding ice shelves can render an iceport temporarily unstable and unusable.