Over the weekend, an expedition team found Sir Ernest Shackleton’s missing ship, the Endurance, in Antarctica.
The ship was located at a depth of 3,008m in the Weddell Sea. The expedition team left South Africa in February to begin their voyage to find the Endurance. They found the missing ship towards the end of their search period.
Dr. John Shears, the leader of the expedition, called the discovery “an incredible achievement.”
“The Endurance22 expedition has reached its goal. We have made polar history with the discovery of Endurance, and successfully completed the world’s most challenging shipwreck search,” he said.
Sir Ernest Shackleton set sail on the Endurance to achieve the first land crossing of Antarctica. In 1915 the ship got stuck in sea-ice, and Shackleton and his crew had to abandon the ship.
The expedition team face a number of challenges when looking for the ship. They dealt with below freezing temperatures, blizzards, and their ship, the S.A. Agulhas II, got stuck in ice just like the Endurance did over 100 years earlier. However they were able to break free and continue their search for the wreckage.
Under the Antarctic Treaty, the ship’s wreckage will not be removed from the water nor will it be taken apart as it is now a part of the marine life in the Weddell Sea.
