A hundred years after the death of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton’s death and 107 years after the sinking of his expedition’s ship Endurance in Antarctic seas, a high-tech expedition has located the wreck in 10,000 feet of icy waters.
The director of the high-tech search for the ship, which was found using underwater drones, said the ship “is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact and in a brilliant state of preservation. You can even see ‘Endurance’ arced across the taffrail.” Portions of the ship show the damage from being crushed in the ice pack.
The ship was a key part of one of the most amazing stories of exploration and survival, carrying his expedition to Antarctica for an attempt to cross the continent by land and reach the South Pole. Before the ship reached its intended anchorage it became trapped in pack ice.
After months aboard the ship, the 28 men were forced to abandon it as it became further damaged. Shackleton and the crew survived an epic 800-mile open-boat journey in treacherous weather to an island from which they were rescued.
While the ship has now been found and photographed, no salvage work is planned, both because of its unreachable location and because under the international Antarctic Treaty, the wreck is considered a historical monument.
Just amazing!