The Ship In Which A Famous British-Irish Explorer Of Antarctica Made His Final Voyage Was Discovered On The Seafloor Off The Coast Of Canada
The wreck of the ship on which Ernest Shackleton made his final voyage was recently discovered on the seafloor off the coast of the Labrador Sea in Canada.
Shackleton was a famous British-Irish explorer of Antarctica. He suffered a heart attack on board in 1922 while trying to reach the Antarctic. The ship continued to be used for Arctic research until it sank in 1962 during a whaling trip.
The vessel, called Quest, was found by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. A team of researchers used sonar scans to locate the ship under thousands of feet of frigid water.
The Quest was found sitting upright on its keel. Its main mast was splintered and hung over the port side. The mast likely broke off when the vessel struck ice.
The Quest has great historical significance. Shackleton was revered for his travels to the Antarctic because very few people had been able to venture into the frozen landscape at that time. His death marked the end of what is known as the “heroic age” of Antarctic exploration.
The adventurer led three expeditions to the Antarctic. He died of a heart attack at the age of 47 during a fourth journey. The ship had been just off South Georgia, east of the Falkan Islands located in the South Atlantic.
Shackleton had originally bought the schooner-rigged steamship to travel to Canada’s High Arctic. But, he ended up changing his mind and set sail for the Antarctic once again.
The ship was built in Norway and measured about 124 feet in length. Its remains were in excellent condition, even though it experienced damage from ice.
Researchers don’t have plans to haul the wreckage to the surface, as it would be too costly. Instead, they will conduct a series of dives in the near future to study and document the details of the vessel further.
Scott Heaney – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
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“Right now, we don’t intend to touch the wreck. It actually lies in an already protected area for wildlife, so nobody should be touching it,” said associate search director Antoine Normandin. “But we do hope to go back and photograph it with a remotely operated vehicle to really understand its state.”
In 2022, researchers identified another one of Shackleton’s ships. They found the Endurance in about 10,000 feet of icy water about a century after its sinking.
A team of experts used an icebreaker ship and underwater drones to detect the wreck at the bottom of the Wendell Sea near the Antarctica Peninsula.
Ernest Shackleton will continue to live on as one of the greatest explorers of all time. He made groundbreaking achievements in exploration and was known for looking after his crew. Every year, hundreds of people still visit his grave to pay their respects.
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