The search for famed polar explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance, which sank in 1915, is finally over. On March 9, 2022, the Endurance22 expedition team announced the wreck had been found in the Weddell Sea off the coast of Antarctica. The 106-year-old vessel lies at a depth of about 10,000 feet.
What happened to the Endurance boat?
After her commissioners could no longer pay the shipyard, the ship was bought by Shackleton in January 1914 for the expedition, which would be her first voyage. A year later, she became trapped in pack ice and finally sank in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica on 21 November 1915.
Did the Endurance crew survive?
Twenty months after setting out for the Antarctic, every one of the Endurance crew was alive and safe. A 2022 image of the Endurance’s stern reveals its name above a five-pointed star. The wooden ship was well preserved in the icy waters of the Weddell Sea.
How far down is the Endurance ship?
The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust said Endurance was found at a depth of 3,008 metres and approximately four miles south of the position originally recorded by the ship’s captain Frank Worsley.
Was the ship Endurance ever found? – Related Questions
How many crew died on the Endurance?
Throughout the ordeal, not one of the 27 men of the Endurance crew died. (Three men from a second ship, the Aurora, which was on a separate part of the mission laying supply depots for Shackleton’s trek, did die.)
What was found in Antarctica recently?
Researchers recently brought this “hidden world” into the light, revealing a dark and jagged cavern filled with swarms of tiny, shrimplike creatures.
How far down is Shackleton’s Endurance?
This is the Endurance, resting nearly 10,000 feet down in the dark, freezing waters at the bottom of Antarctica’s Weddell Sea, just a few sea anemones and other creatures bearing witness to perhaps the final chapter in one of the world’s great stories of heroism and survival.
Where is HMS Endurance now?
The wreck of HMS Endurance, which has finally been located deep beneath the icy seas of Antarctica after being lost 107 years ago, was arguably the most valuable shipwreck ever sought.
How long did it take for Endurance to sink?
Sir Ernest Shackleton, Endurance Voyage Timeline and Map
Event and key to map |
Time since leaving England |
2 Entered pack ice |
3 months, 29 days |
3 Endurance trapped |
5 months, 10 days |
4 Endurance crushed, ship abandoned |
14 months, 19 days |
5 Endurance sinks |
15 months, 13 days |
What caused the Endurance to sink?
The ship was crushed by sea-ice and sank in 1915, forcing Shackleton and his men to make an astonishing escape on foot and in small boats. Video of the remains show Endurance to be in remarkable condition.
What sunken ship was just found?
The stern of the Endurance, with the name and emblematic polestar, can be seen at its final resting place underwater. The HMS Endurance, the ship of polar explorer Ernest Shackleton that sank in 1915, has been discovered intact off the coast of Antarctica.
What happened to the crew of the Endurance after they were rescued?
The Weddell Sea party’s ship Endurance was crushed in pack ice and the crossing attempt was never made. All the Weddell Sea party were rescued, but several members of the Ross Sea party perished after their support ship Aurora broke free from its mooring post and drifted away, leaving the shore party stranded.
How long was Shackleton’s crew stranded?
To the world, he was the hero who rescued the crew of the Endurance with “not a man lost.” But Shackleton himself was haunted by the fate of the men of his expedition on the other side of Antarctica, stranded for more than two years.
What did the Endurance crew eat?
At the end of the journey—when the men basically had no carbohydrates left to eat—they had trouble performing physical labor. They subsisted on mainly seal, penguin, and seaweed.
What was Shackleton’s last words?
Dr Alexander Macklin, who was on watch that evening, had visited Shackleton in his cabin and, after encouraging him to take things easy, was rebuked with the words: …“You always want me to give up something. What do you want me to give up now?” This was the last thing he said. He died quite suddenly.
How many of Shackleton’s crew died in the war?
Of the 53 surviving members of the expedition, three were killed in the war and another five were wounded. Shackleton himself, who had been keen to emphasize the sacrifices of his men in answer to those criticizing the expedition, died a few years later while en route to yet another Antarctic expedition.
What did Shackleton’s men eat?
Shackleton and all 27 of his men survived almost two years on penguins, seals and seaweed, though food became very scarce when the penguins were hard to find at times. It has been reported that Shackleton was even partial to a little bit of elephant seal snout.
How long did Shackleton’s men survive?
The Endurance’s crew became stranded on the remote Elephant Island and were only rescued over four months later, in August 1916, after expedition leader Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922) left to seek help.
What did Shackleton’s crew do to survive?
The men hunted seals and penguins to stay alive, and were eventually forced to shoot and eat the sled dogs. Finally, on April 8th, 1916, the ice split, allowing Shackleton and his crew to board the lifeboats.
How many dogs survived Shackleton’s expedition?
The party had 18 dogs, ten of which were dead within two months; by the time rescue came, only seven men and four dogs had survived. The animals acted bravely, going through the inhospitable Antarctic terrain, surviving up to three days with no food, pulling sledges in the ice and showing incredible perseverance.