Endurance, the missing ship of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, was found on March 5, 2022, at the bottom of the Weddell Sea. Scientists filmed one of the largest undiscovered wrecks. The photos and video that you can find on the web look impressive!
Like an almond inside a chocolate bar
The Endurance was designed by Ole Aanderud Larsen and was built by the Framnæs shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway. The ship was 43.8 meters long, 7.62 meters wide and weighed nearly 350 tons. On December 5, 1914, he left for Antarctica. At that time, there were 27 crew members and a stowaway, 69 dogs and one cat. The goal of Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition leader and researcher, was to establish a base on the Antarctic coast in the Weddell Sea. The management then planned to continue the journey to the Ross Sea on the other side of the continent.
In January 1915, the ship encountered a barrier of thick sea ice surrounding the Antarctic continent. For a few weeks the Endurance made painstaking progress, but in mid-January a strong wind pushed the ice floes hard and the ship was stuck - "frozen as an almond in the center of a chocolate bar," said one traveler, Thomas Orde-Lees. The crew decided to wait. After nine long months in the freezing abyss, the men's patience ran out. Seeing that the ship was badly damaged, they decided to abandon it. On the journey they took food, books, clothes, tools, souvenirs and - most importantly - three open lifeboats. The cat and some dogs were shot.
A few weeks later, on November 21, 1915, almost a year after leaving port, Endurance finally sank. Using basic navigation tools, Frank Worsley, the ship's captain and navigator, recorded its position. Without this information, it would probably never have been found. But let's get back to the crew.
Endurance in 1915
The men devised a plan to march over the ice towards the land, but after a week and only 12 kilometers, they gave up. They set up camp and were forced to wait again. When the ice broke in April of the following year, the crew boarded the lifeboats and, using oars, sailed to the remote and uninhabited Elephant Island. The men were exhausted, some suffered from seasickness. "At least half of the crew were insane," wrote Frank Wild, second in command. But they succeeded. On April 15, they got ashore. It was the first time in almost 500 days that they had come on solid ground.
After nine days of recovery, Shackleton, Worsley, and four other crew members launched one of the boats and went for help. The nearly 1,300-kilometer journey through rough seas and strong winds was to end South Georgia. “The boat was thrashing endlessly on great waves under the gray, menacing sky. Every wave of the sea was an enemy that had to be watched and avoided, "Shackleton noted. It took them 16 days to reach their destination.
In mid-January, a strong wind pushed the ice floes hard and the ship got stuck - "frozen like an almond in the center of a chocolate bar"
It was an extraordinary feat, but their epic journey is not over yet. Three men, including Shackleton, crossed the peaks and glaciers of South Georgia to reach the whaling station on the other side of the island. A few months later, a Chilean Navy patrol boat rescued the remaining men on Elephant Island.
Perfectly preserved
The story of the Enudrance crew's astonishing journey is quite famous. It was different with the ship itself and the place where it sank. For years, it has been argued that it is almost impossible to find, mainly due to the harsh conditions in the Weddell Sea.
In 2019, a private expedition attempted to locate the wreckage. Without success. In January 2022, thanks to favorable weather conditions, the Expedition Endurance 22 expedition began its search. Lodołamacz SA Agulhas II paved the way for researchers, including marine physicist Stefanie Arndt from the Alfred Wegener Institute. Scientists, using the navigator's notes, found the ship:7.7 kilometers from the last recorded position, at a depth of 3008 meters . But the discovery of the resting place was not the only incredible success.
Over the years it has been argued that it is almost impossible to find, mainly due to the harsh conditions in the Weddell Sea
Mission manager, polar geography veteran Dr. John Shears, described the moment the cameras captured the shipwreck as "jaw drop".
- We successfully completed the world's most difficult shipwreck search, battling with ever-changing sea ice, blizzards and temperatures dropping down to -18 ° C. We achieved what many people thought was impossible.
The condition of the ship inspires admiration among other people dealing with this topic. Marine Archaeologist Mensun Bound:
- Without any exaggeration, this is the most wonderful wooden shipwreck I have ever seen. The wreck is upright, stands proudly on the seabed, is intact and in perfect condition.
- The wood appears to have slightly degraded, suggesting that animals found elsewhere in the ocean are not found in the forestless region of Antarctica Comments Dr. Michelle Taylor, a polar biologist at the University of Essex.
Under the International Antarctic Treaty, the wreckage must not be violated in any way. So it will remain where it rested.
Sources:
- https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/09/lost-and-found-story-of-shackleton-endurance-expedition (accessed:3/11/2022)
- https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60662541 (accessed:3/11/2022)