Image of the sunken stern. Photo. / www.arstechnica.com
The Endurance, lost ship of legendary explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, was found March 5 in the icy waters of the Weddell Sea off the Antarctic Peninsula. A research team managed to film the remains of the shipwreck 107 years later. Forced by the crushing weight of sea ice that sank their transport, Shackleton and his men made a spectacular escape on foot and in small boats.
What has surprised scientists the most is that the ship, despite being three kilometers deep, has remained almost exactly as it was on the November 1915 day when it disappeared. The wood, although logically a bit worn, looks strong and in place. The name is clearly visible on the stern.
“Without exaggeration, this is by far the best-preserved wooden shipwreck I’ve ever seen,” said marine archaeologist Mensun Bound, a member of the expedition that made the discovery and has now fulfilled a dream of his nearly fifty-year career.
The project to find the ancient ship was funded by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust (FMHT). To do this, they used a South African icebreaker, the Agulhas II, which was equipped with remote-controlled submersibles. Experienced polar geographer Dr. John Sears, head of the mission, described the moment cameras spotted the wreck as “breathtaking” and called what they had accomplished an “incredible feat”. “We have completed the underwater search for the world’s most difficult shipwreck, constantly struggling with frigid, variable seas, snow storms and temperatures below 18°C. We did what many thought was impossible.”
How was the ship found?
After two weeks, the subs had combed through a predefined search area. Before finding the exact spot, they checked several interesting brands.
The following days were used to photographically document the condition of the wood and other finds. The disaster site itself has been declared a monument under the Antarctic Treaty and must not be disturbed in any way. As such, no artifacts associated with the ship were brought to the surface.
The ship looks almost exactly as it did when it was immortalized by Frank Hurley, a documentary filmmaker of the 1915 expedition. This strange and unexpected circumstance occurs mainly because the marine life that colonized the Endurance is unable to to wear them down. Michelle Taylor, a polar biologist at the University of Essex, explained that the species found were fed by internal filtering mechanisms.
Sir Ernest Shackleton was an Anglo-Irish explorer who was considered one of the leading figures of what is known as the heroic age of Antarctic expeditions. Before the tragedy, he hoped to make the first overland trip to the frozen continent. All left men for dead, but Shackleton incredibly guided them to safety, an achievement celebrated to this day.