Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance has been located in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea just 106 years after it was crushed in ice.
The wreck of the ship has been filmed by the Endurance 22 expedition at a depth of 3009 metres (9868 ft) after it was located by the team onboard the South African polar research vessel SS Agulhas II.
Its location was confirmed exactly 100 years to the day after Shackleton’s funeral on March 5th 1922.
South African polar research vessel SS Agulhas II Ship at sea-4. Photo: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust and James Blake
“The worst portion of the worst sea in the world” was how the Irish explorer had described the location when the Endurance was crushed in 1915 during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1916.
Menson Bound, Director of Exploration of Endurance22 expedition (l) and John Shears, Expedition Leader (r) on the sea ice of Weddell Sea, in the Antarctic with S.A.Agulhas II in the background. Photo: Esther Horvath
Shackleton and crew were forced to take to the ice, with the leader and five men - including Kerryman Tom Crean and Corkman Tim McCarthy - subsequently undertaking one of the world’s most famous sea rescue voyages from Elephant island to South Georgia.
The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust said the shipwreck was found approximately four miles south of the position originally recorded by Capt Frank Worsley.
John Shears, Expedition Leader, Lasse Rabenstein,Chief Scientist of Endurance22 and Carl Elkington Team Leader of White Desert measure sea ice thickness on an ice floe in the Weddell Sea during the first science day. Photo: Esther Horvath
Marine archaeologist and exploration director Mensun Bound said:
“We are overwhelmed by our good fortune in having located and captured images of Endurance”.
“This is by far the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen. It is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact, and in a brilliant state of preservation,” he said.
(Above and below) Sub-sea team of Endurance22 expedition and crew of S.A.Agulhas II recover the AUV after a dive in the Weddell Sea, in search for Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship the Endurance. From left to right: Dean Cedras crew of S.A.Agulhas II, J.C. Caillens, Off-Shore Manager, Frédéric Bassemayousse and Wayne Auton from White Desert team. Photo: Esther Horvath
“You can even see “Endurance” arced across the stern, directly below the taffrail. This is a milestone in polar history,” he said.
Master of the S.A. Agulhas II Capt. Knowledge Bengu used Saab’s Sabertooth hybrid underwater search vehicles to find the shipwreck.
Photo, video and a laser pictures of Endurance22 displayed in the control room of the AUV on board of S.A.Agulhas II. Photo: Esther Horvath
The trust noted that the wreck is protected as an historic site and monument under the Antarctic Treaty, “ensuring that whilst the wreck is being surveyed and filmed it will not be touched or disturbed in any way”.
Speaking to the BBC, Bound said that " this is the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen - by far”.
“It is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact, and in a brilliant state of preservation.
“You can even see the ship's name - E N D U R A N C E - arced across its stern directly below the taffrail (a handrail near the stern),” he told the BBC.
“ And beneath, as bold as brass, is Polaris, the five-pointed star, after which the ship was originally named,” he said, adding “you would have to be made of stone not to feel a bit squishy at the sight of that star and the name above”.
“And just under the tuck of the stern, laying in the silt is the source of all their troubles, the rudder itself,” Bound said.
“ You will remember that it was when the rudder was torn to one side by the ice that the water came pouring in and it was game over. It just sends shivers up your spine,” he said.
“When you rise up over the stern, there is another surprise. There, in the well deck, is the ship's wheel with all its spokes showing, absolutely intact. And before it is the companionway (with the two leaves of its door wide open) leading down to the cabin deck,” he said.
Endurance's wheel with all its spokes showing
“ The famous Frank Hurley (expedition photographer) picture of Thomas Ord Lees (motor expert) about to go down into the ship was taken right there,” Bound noted.
“And beside the companionway, you can see a porthole that is Shackleton's cabin. At that moment, you really do feel the breath of the great man upon the back of your neck,” he said.
Bound said the funnel is there with its steam whistle attached, close to the engine room skylight.
He identified two boots, which may or may not be a pair, along with several plates and a cup in the debris field beside the wreck.
Although the wardroom had been crushed when the mast fell, its outline can still be seen, along with the galley and pantry, he said.
Bound described the bow as “amazing”
“The masts, spars, booms and gaffs are all down, just as in the final pictures of her taken by Frank Hurley. You can see the breaks in the masts just as in the photos,” Bound said.
“You can even see the holes that Shackleton's men cut in the decks to get through to the 'tween decks to salvage supplies, etc, using boat hooks,” he said.
“ In particular, there was the hole they cut through the deck in order to get into "The Billabong", the cabin in "The Ritz" that had been used by Hurley, Leonard Hussey (meteorologist), James McIlroy (surgeon) and Alexander Macklin (surgeon), but which was used to store food supplies at the time the ship went down,” Bound noted.
Bound said he had hoped to find Orde Lees' bicycle, but “that wasn't visible”,
He had also hoped to find honey jars used by biologist Robert lark to preserve his samples, but did not see them.
One of the last images of Ernest Shackleton's Endurance until now. After more than a hundred years under the ice of the Weddell Sea the ship was located and photographed again
“ We hope our discovery will engage young people and inspire them with the pioneering spirit, courage and fortitude of those who sailed Endurance to Antarctica,” Bound said.
“We pay tribute to the navigational skills of Captain Frank Worsley, the captain of the Endurance, whose detailed records were invaluable in our quest to locate the wreck,” he said.
Bound thanked colleagues at the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust “for enabling this extraordinary expedition to take place, as well as Saab for their technology, and the whole team of dedicated experts who have been involved in this monumental discovery”.
One of the world’s leading shipwreck hunters David Mearns had described the challenge of finding the vessel as “the most difficult” due to the ice conditions.
