He was at the heart of a period in history that later came to be known as the 'Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration'.īorn in Ireland, Shackleton moved to London with his family when he was 10 and first experienced polar climates as an officer on Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery expedition of 1901–1904. Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three expeditions to the frozen continent. Sir Ernest Shackleton during the 1908 expedition to Antarctica It is believed she tipped over after being overburdened with men and equipment.

Henry VIII was watching when the vessel met its fate. The ship sank while on its way to battle against the French in 1545. More than 500 volunteer divers and many others on shore helped with the work. Henry VIII's flagship was raised from the Solent in an operation that was watched by an estimated 60million people on television. If the Endurance is raised, the operation would echo the lifting of the Tudor warship the Mary Rose in 1982. The ropes and mast have fallen down but are still attached and perhaps acted like a 'parachute' as the ship sank. The team instead deployed a drone off the back of the ship to move around the area.Įndurance was found to be leaning on its right with ice coming 'up and over' it which 'bulldozed' parts of the deck and accommodation area, although Sir Ernest's cabin is still intact. 'Bonkers idea, because the ice is ever-shifting, it's moving erratically.' Pictured is the the South African polar research and logistics vessel, S.A. The ship was found approximately four miles south of the position originally recorded by Captain Worsley. ' anxious in time to conduct a proper marine biological survey because she is this incredible oasis in a vast plain.' 'The technology's there, we can have a look through some of the gaps. 'It's like the film Citizen Kane with all the antiques, everything is there in that box.

Talking about other future plans, he went on: 'She's the ultimate sealed box mystery, it's an Aladdin's cave. Mr Bound said Endurance is 'by far the finest wooden shipwreck' he had seen. Underwater search vehicles were used to locate, survey and film the wreck. In March, 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.įor the mission, the expedition team worked from the South African polar research and logistics vessel, S.A. 'But if we leave it there, it's organic, it's going to decay some time beyond our lifetime.' 'Bringing it up - we've got to think about conserving it and the process of that, which museum is going to take that, which could take forever and a day. 'And we have to remember the Shackleton family, who very likely own the ship, they have fairly strong views of their own. They were stuck in the ice for around 10 months, before escaping in lifeboats and on foot.Īsked at an event in central London if the ship will be raised, maritime archaeologist Mr Bound said: 'There are a lot of contrasting views about that - we have a range of ideas on that one. Sir Ernest and his crew set out to achieve the first land crossing of Antarctica but Endurance did not reach land and became trapped in dense pack ice, forcing the 28 men on board to eventually abandon ship. Raising the ship has also been considered, amid concerns it could eventually decay despite being preserved in the ice and cold water for so long. The Endurance22 Expedition director of exploration Mensun Bound has revealed he is planning to look more closely at the wreck, which lies 10,000 feet beneath the surface of the ocean. Sir Ernest Shackleton's lost ship could be raised from under the sea in Antarctica, the expedition crew who found it has said.Įndurance became stuck in ice and sank in the Weddell Sea off the coast of Antarctica in 1915 and had been lost until it was located by a mission vessel which was launched in February, a month after the 100th anniversary of Sir Ernest's death this year.

Ernest shackleton endurance ship