The wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship the Endurance was discovered “in a brilliant state of preservation” 100 years after the British explorer’s death.
by Simon Childs
Scientists have found one of the most sought after and best preserved shipwrecks ever in a “jaw dropping” discovery.
The Endurance – British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship which has not been seen since it was crushed by the ice and sank in 1915 – was discovered by scientists at a depth of 3008 metres in the Weddell Sea, part of the Southern Ocean.
Images show the ship to be in excellent condition with the word “Endurance” still clearly visible across the stern.
“Without any exaggeration this is the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen – by far,” Bound told BBC News. “It is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact, and in a brilliant state of preservation,” he said. “It is just a beautiful wreck,” he said.
The Endurance was the ship of Arctic explorer Sir Earnest Shackleton, who attempted to become the first person to cross the Antarctic ice sheet over land in December 1914 with 27 men. Two days into the expedition and before they could reach land, their ship encountered pack ice and by January it had become stuck. The men had to decamp to the ice, where they camped for months, before crossing the ocean in life-boats and reaching the inhospitable Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton and five others sailed to South Georgia, an island in the South Atlantic, from where they organised the rescue of the rest of the crew.
Just getting to the location of the Endurance was a difficult task but it was made easier as the past months has seen the lowest level of Antarctic sea ice since the 1970s.
Dr John Shears, leader of the recovery mission, said the moment cameras landed on the ship was “jaw dropping”.
“We have successfully completed the world’s most difficult shipwreck search, battling constantly shifting sea-ice, blizzards, and temperatures dropping down to -18C. We have achieved what many people said was impossible.”
The ship has been colonised by sea life, but has not significantly decayed. As the Southern Ocean has little plant life, it is also free of sea-life that consumes wood. “The wood is as fresh as the day the ship went down,” said Mensun Bound a marine archeologist with a 50-year career.
Originally published as ‘Just a Beautiful Wreck’: Lost Ship Endurance Found After 107 Years
