Polar Explorer’s Ship Found After Over 100 Years

Weddell Sea —(Map)

Over a hundred years after it sank near Antarctica, the ship of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton has been found. The ship, called ‘Endurance’, sank after it got trapped in the ice in the Weddell Sea in 1915. Now it has been found using underwater robots.

In 1914, Ernest Shackleton and his 27-member crew left England in a wooden sailing ship called the Endurance. Shackleton hoped to become the first to cross Antarctica.

But in 1915, the Endurance became trapped in the thick ice over the Weddell Sea. The ice crushed the Endurance and later sank it. Shackleton and all of his men lived, but the tale of their long and difficult return is one of the most famous survival stories of all time.

Much was known about the location of the Endurance. The ship’s captain kept accurate records of the ship’s position. The ship’s photographer even took pictures of it as it went down.

But the ship, deep in the icy waters near Antarctica, had never been found.

On Wednesday, a search team called “Endurance22” announced that it had located the ship. The Endurance was found 1.87 miles (3 kilometers) below the ocean’s surface, about four miles (6 kilometers) south of its last known position.

The Endurance22 team reports that the ship is in excellent shape. The name can be clearly read on the back of the ship. Its wheel looks ready to be turned. “This is by far the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen,” said Mensun Bound, who was in charge of the exploration.

Even though the ship is made of wood and is over 100 years old, it has survived with little damage. Scientists say that the small organisms that normally break down wooden objects underwater don’t live in the cold waters around Antarctica.

The Endurance22 effort is led by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust. National Geographic is planning a show about the project for this fall.

The team ran the project from an ice-breaking ship able to handle the difficult conditions of the Weddell Sea. To locate the Endurance, the team used two underwater robots called Sabertooths. These robots can travel by themselves deep under the sea, as far as 100 miles (160 kilometers) away from the base ship.

For the last two weeks the Sabertooth robots have been scanning the sea floor in a 150-square mile (390-square kilometer) area around the Endurance’s last known location. The Sabertooths were especially useful, since they could travel under the ice and go where the ship could not.

The robots were looking for anything sticking up above the sea floor. Last Saturday, the ship was found. Once the ship was located, the Sabertooths used high-quality cameras and scanners to record the Endurance in detail.

The Endurance is expected to remain untouched. Antarctica’s waters are protected by an international agreement, which means the ship can’t be disturbed.

The Endurance22 team plans to create a digital 3D model of the wreck site, using the careful scans they made. This will allow scientists to study the ship in detail without disturbing it.

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Did You Know…?
Even the ice-breaking ship used by the Endurance22 team got trapped in the Weddell Sea ice for a short time.