Polar Tang
- Name
- ポーラータング号 (Pōrā Tangu-gō)
- Crew
- Heart Pirates
- Captain
- Trafalgar Law
- Type
- Submarine
- Status
- destroyed
- First seen
- Ch. 578
- Name meaning
- A 'tang' is a surgeonfish (family Acanthuridae), so named for the scalpel-/lancet-shaped spines at the base of its tail — a direct fit for the surgical theme of the Heart Pirates and their captain Trafalgar Law, the 'Surgeon of Death' (wielder of the Ope Ope no Mi). 'Polar' evokes cold, deep, polar waters, suiting a diving submarine. The name also doubles as a real-world submarine reference — the US Navy's USS Tang (SS-306 and SS-563) and the Tang-class submarines — and, as a literal yellow submarine, may nod to The Beatles' 1969 'Yellow Submarine.'
The Heart Pirates’ yellow submarine · captained by Trafalgar Law · first shown Ch. 578 · sunk Ch. 1081
Profile
The Polar Tang is the yellow submarine of the Heart Pirates, captained by Trafalgar Law — the crew’s signature vessel for diving the New World. First shown surfacing in the warzone at Marineford (Ch. 578) so Law could extract the dying Luffy and Jinbei, and central to the crew’s later travels (Amazon Lily → Zou → Wano). The submarine’s name “Polar Tang” was first given via SBS (Vol. 82) and printed on-page as the crew is finished off Ch. 1081.
Sunk by the Blackbeard Pirates at Winner Island (Ch. 1081 pp. 16, 19), leaving the Heart Pirates without a ship as Law is declared defeated and Bepo (in moonless Sulong) pleads with him not to die.
Key chapters
- Ch. 565 — first reference: at Sabaody, Law orders “Get the ship ready, Bepo” amid the Summit-War broadcast chaos (ship not yet drawn).
- Ch. 578 — first on-page appearance: the yellow submarine surfaces at Marine Headquarters to extract the dying Luffy and Jinbei.
- Ch. 1019 — at sea near Wano, the crew revive a near-drowned Luffy aboard.
- Ch. 1064 — Winner Island: the crew shield the submarine from Blackbeard’s ambush as Law escapes via Warp.
- Ch. 1081 — sunk by the Blackbeard Pirates at Winner Island; Law and the Heart Pirates declared “defeated” (pp. 16, 19).
Notes
Do NOT lock 1081 as a first.
- The name “Polar Tang” is an SBS reveal (Vol. 82, p. 18) — cross-link the SBS specialist.
technique/sbs-leak. - Etymology . “Tang” = a surgeonfish (Acanthuridae), named for its scalpel-shaped tail spines — reinforcing the Heart Pirates’ surgical motif and Law the “Surgeon of Death.” “Polar” = cold/deep-sea, fitting a submarine. Also echoes the US Navy’s USS Tang / Tang-class subs, and (as a yellow submarine) possibly The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine.” Confidence high.
Cross-links
- Crew / captain: Heart Pirates / Trafalgar Law.
- Crew aboard: Bepo, Jean Bart, Penguin, Shachi.
- Destroyed at: Winner Island by the Blackbeard Pirates (Ch. 1081).