106 years later, Shakleton´s ship has been found in Antarctica.

For anyone interested in polar exploration, the finding of the historic
Endurance, the ship used by Ernest Shakleton was always in the back of their minds.

Today, we can say that The Endurance, the 144-foot three-masted wooden ship that sank in the Weddel Sea in 1915 has been found.  The historic wreck was located by the Endurance 22 Expedition, east of Antarctica Peninsula, by a multidisciplinary team nearly 3.008 meters deep. It took almost 15 days to search an area of about 400 square km.

The wreck is protected as a Historic Site and Monument under the Antarctic Treaty, ensuring that whilst the wreck is being surveyed and filmed it will not be touched or disturbed in any way.

It was Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ambition to achieve the first land crossing of Antarctica from the Weddell Sea via the South Pole to the Ross Sea. The Ross Sea Party which was landed at Hut Point on Ross Island had the task of laying supply dumps for Shackleton’s crossing party and achieved its objective, but at the cost of three lives lost. In the Weddell Sea, Endurance never reached land and became trapped in the dense pack ice and the 28 men on board eventually had no choice but to abandon ship. After months spent in makeshift camps on the ice floes drifting northwards, the party took to the lifeboats to reach the inhospitable, uninhabited, Elephant Island. Shackleton and five others then made an extraordinary 800-mile (1,300 km) open-boat journey in the lifeboat, James Caird, to reach South Georgia. Shackleton and two others then crossed the mountainous island to the whaling station at Stromness. From there, Shackleton was eventually able to mount a rescue of the men waiting on Elephant Island and bring them home without loss of life.

The Endurance22 expedition has reached its goal, said Expedition Leader Dr. John Shears. We have made polar history with the discovery of Endurance, and successfully completed the world’s most challenging shipwreck search. In addition, we have undertaken important scientific research in a part of the world that directly affects the global climate and environment. We have also conducted an unprecedented educational outreach program, with live broadcasting from onboard, allowing new generations from around the world, to engage with Endurance22,. Become inspired by the amazing stories of polar exploration, what human beings can achieve, and the obstacles they can overcome when they work together