Endurance Endures
By Max Levy
In 1914, Sir Ernest Henry Shackelton set off on a Trans-Arctic Expedition with the goal to cross the entity of Antarctica by way of the geographic south pole. His vessel of choice was the great ship Endurance. Shackleton and his team pushed forward with success until they couldn’t anymore, for Endurance got stuck. The ship was trapped in pack ice and eventually sank into the Antarctic Weddell Sea late in 1915. His crew survived, but the ship did not. The wreckage of Endurance would not be discovered until 2022.
Although the ship was constructed with mighty wood planks, some have been worried the ship might have broken down and been destroyed. However, a new three-dimensional scan of the sunken Endurance ship has shown that it has persevered extremely well. Scientists used submersibles and other scanning technology to take photographs, videos, and scans of the sunken vessel. They compiled nearly 25,000 high-resolution images to create the impressive scene. Even though the ship will remain on the seafloor, this scan will bring its extraordinary preservation to life with immense detail and accuracy.
The scan captures the entirety of Endurance. In general, the ship is almost completely intact and in remarkable shape. Many of its features, the passenger’s items, and other artifacts have been preserved. Most notably, a flare gun was found on board. The gun belonged to Frank Hurley who, according to historical records, fired the very same gun right before the ship sank. By corroborating the scan with historical accounts like this, both historians and scientists will better understand the ship and the journey it went on with Shackelton. The scan and the boat itself will certainly be used as invaluable tools in research about Antarctic voyages; a more holistic and detailed history of Antarctica and human exploration is sure to arise as a result.
Images and data from the scan were used in a recent documentary titled “Endurance.” The film tells the harrowing story of Sir Shackelton and his journey on the vessel in Antarctica. In addition, it focuses on the expedition that led to the ship's discovery two years ago. The movie premiered in London a month ago and will soon be released to theaters and the Disney+ streaming service.
When Endurance sank before the sorrowful eyes of Eernst Shackleton and his crew all those years ago, they certainly thought the ship would be lost to time forever. However, after its recent discovery and the new 3-D scan, the vessel has never been more available for study. Its preservation is both impressive and unbelievable. Endurance endures!
