Explorer Shackleton’s lost ship as never seen before

The ship Endurance, which belonged to the famous explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, has been discovered after being hidden in the icy waters of Antarctica for over a century. This remarkable ship sank in 1915 and now lies approximately 3 kilometers beneath the surface of the Weddell Sea. Thanks to advanced technology, we can now see the ship in stunning 3D detail. A digital scan was created using 25,000 high-resolution images taken when the ship was found in 2022. This scan allows us to visualize the ship as if the murky water has been removed, revealing its structure and artifacts for the first time. The details captured in the scan tell fascinating stories about the ship and its crew. For instance, we can see the plates that the crew used for their meals, which are still scattered across the deck. These small white plates are highlighted in the images to help us understand the daily life of the crew. Additionally, there is a single boot that may have belonged to Frank Wild, Shackleton's second-in-command, which is labeled 'Explorer's boot' in the photographs. Perhaps the most extraordinary find is a flare gun that was mentioned in the crew's journals. This flare gun was fired by Frank Hurley, the expedition's photographer, as a tribute to the ship when it was lost to the ice. Dr. John Shears, who led the expedition that discovered the Endurance, explained how Hurley fired the flare gun into the air as a way to honor the ship. Now, over a century later, we can see that very flare gun lying among the wreckage, which is truly remarkable. Sir Ernest Shackleton was an Anglo-Irish explorer who led the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, aiming to achieve the first land crossing of Antarctica. Unfortunately, the mission faced challenges from the very beginning. Just weeks after departing from South Georgia, the Endurance became trapped in pack ice. The ship, along with its crew, drifted for months before the decision was made to abandon ship. Ultimately, the Endurance sank on November 21, 1915. Shackleton and his crew were forced to traverse hundreds of miles over ice, land, and sea to reach safety, and miraculously, all 27 crew members survived. Their incredible journey was documented in their diaries and in photographs taken by Frank Hurley, which have now been enhanced with color for the Endurance documentary. The ship remained lost until its discovery in 2022, which made headlines around the world and revealed that it is remarkably well-preserved by the icy waters. The new 3D scan was created using underwater robots that mapped the wreck from every angle, capturing thousands of photographs. These images were then combined to create a digital twin of the ship. While footage filmed at such depths can only show parts of the Endurance in the darkness, the scan provides a complete view of the 44-meter-long wooden wreck from bow to stern. It even records the grooves left in the sediment as the ship came to rest on the seafloor. The model shows how the ship was damaged by the ice, with its masts toppled and parts of the deck in disarray, but the main structure remains largely intact. Shackleton's descendants have stated that the Endurance will never be raised from the ocean floor, and its location in one of the most remote areas of the world makes visiting the wreck again extremely challenging. However, Nico Vincent from Deep Ocean Search, who developed the scanning technology, expressed that the digital replica offers a new way to study the ship. He described the wreck as being almost as if it sank yesterday. The scan can be utilized by scientists to examine the marine life that has colonized the wreck, analyze the geology of the seafloor, and discover new artifacts. This presents a significant opportunity for future research. The scan is owned by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, which also funded and organized the expedition to locate Shackleton's ship. The Endurance documentary is set to premiere at the London Film Festival on October 12 and will be released in cinemas across the UK on October 14.