Miracle: The greatest shipwreck in history found in the “most harsh sea on the planet”

The wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance has been found more than a century after it sank.

Ảnh: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust / National Geographic / PA

MIRACLE OF EXPLORATION

Explorers have found one of the most famous shipwrecks in history: Sir Ernest Shackleton ‘s ship Endurance – the famous 20th-century British-Irish explorer – lying deep in the icy waters off Antarctica more than a century after it sank.

This discovery was just announced worldwide on March 9, 2022.

The Guardian ( UK) commented: “This is the world’s most challenging shipwreck search – for one of the greatest legends in the history of exploration (the Endurance ) lost more than a century ago in the icy waters of Antarctica – has been successful.”

The wreck of the Endurance was found 3,008 metres below the surface of the sea in what Sir Ernest Shackleton described as “the worst part of the most inhospitable sea in the world”.

Sir Ernest Shackleton – famous 20th century British-Irish explorer.

The extraordinary discovery of the Antarctic expedition ship Endurance took place over the weekend (5/3/2022) to mark the 100th anniversary of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s funeral, the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust said.

Dr John Shears, the veteran geographer who led the expedition, said the Endurance22 expedition, which set out from Cape Town, South Africa, a month ago, had “achieved its objective”. “We have made polar history with the discovery of the Endurance and successfully completed the world’s most challenging shipwreck search.”

Dr John Shears hopes people will be inspired by “what humans can achieve and the obstacles they can overcome when they work together” from this extraordinary discovery.

The Endurance was discovered at a depth of 3,008 metres in the Weddell Sea of ​​the Southern Ocean, about 6 kilometres from where it slowly froze over in 1915.

“We are very fortunate to have located and captured images of the legendary Endurance wreck,” said Mensun Bound, Exploration Director of the expedition.

This is by far the best wooden shipwreck I have ever seen. It is upright, standing tall on the seabed, intact and in excellent condition. You can even see the word Endurance inscribed on the stern.”

Images from the legendary expedition to find the wreck of the Endurance. Source: Esther Horvath / Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust

The expedition left Cape Town on 5 February 2022 on a South African icebreaker, hoping to find the Endurance before the end of the Southern Hemisphere summer.

THE HARSHEST SEAS IN THE WORLD

Sir Ernest Shackleton entered expeditionary legend with the extraordinary Antarctic expedition he and 27 fellow sailors undertook 108 years ago.

As part of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Royal Trans-Antarctic Expedition from 1914 to 1917, the Endurance expedition was tasked with making the first ocean crossing of Antarctica. But their three-masted ship fell victim to the world’s most inhospitable waters, the Weddell Sea.

Just east of the Larsen Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula, the wooden ship became trapped in ice in January 1915. It slowly began to crumble and then sank 10 months later.

The expedition first camped on the sea ice, drifted north until the ice cracked, and then boarded a lifeboat. They then sailed to Elephant Island, a bleak and treeless place.

Using only a navigation device, Sir Ernest Shackleton then took five other men in his strongest and most seaworthy boat on a 1,300-kilometer journey to South Georgia, a British colony with a whaling station, and then returned with a rescue ship to rescue the remaining expedition members.

Starboard side of the Endurance. Photo: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust

Despite the harsh seas and freezing temperatures, the 17-day voyage on a boat just 6.9 metres long is considered one of the most extraordinary achievements in maritime history.

All 28 members of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s expedition miraculously survived.

Explorers today used underwater drones to find and film the shipwreck in the inhospitable Weddell Sea, whose eddies maintain a thick mass of sea ice that can challenge even modern icebreakers.

Sir Ernest Shackleton himself described the site of the Endurance’s sinking in his logbook as “the worst part of the worst sea in the world”. The area remains one of the most difficult parts of the ocean to navigate.

“This is the most complex undersea project ever undertaken,” said Nico Vincent, the mission’s undersea project manager.

LIKE THE TITANIC

Underwater drones have produced surprisingly clear images of the 44-metre-long ship.

Incredibly, the rudder remains intact after more than a century in the water, with equipment stacked on the railings as if Sir Ernest Shackleton’s crew had only just left.

Photo: Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust

The ship’s timbers, though damaged by the iceberg, still held together. One mast was broken in two on the deck.

Sea anemones, sponges and other small ocean life forms have reduced their homes to rubble, but apparently left it undamaged.

“It’s amazing to see just the pictures of the Endurance on the seabed,” said Adrian Glover, a deep-sea biologist at the Natural History Museum. “This extraordinary discovery is the equivalent of finding the legendary Titanic.”

South Africa’s Department of Environment, which owns the icebreaker, said a previous mission in 2019 failed to find the Endurance.

Under international law, the wreck is protected as a historical site. Explorers are allowed to film and scan the ship, but not touch it – meaning none of its artifacts can be brought back to the surface.

The team used an underwater search drone called Sabertooth, built by Saab, which dived under the ice into the deepest part of the Weddell Sea.

During the mission, scientists also studied climate change, recording icebergs and weather patterns.

Stefanie Arndt, a sea ice researcher at Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute, said on Twitter that she was returning with 630 samples of ice and snow. “A staggering number,” she said.

The team now faces an 11-day journey back to port in Cape Town, South Africa.