The Weddell Sea Expedition 2019 and the icebreaker S.A. Agulhas II have reached the last known location of Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated ship, the Endurance, which was crushed by the ice and sunk in 1915. The director of the expedition, Mensun Bound, reported that him and his team are the first to reach the area since Shackleton and his crew.
Mainly, on January 2019, the Expedition vessel, ‘S.A. Agulhas II’, began its journey to the site of the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s lost ship Endurance.
The Weddell Sea Expedition 2019 tweeted that the expedition vessel threaded a narrow channel, following the leads through drifting floes to arrive at approximately 68.5 degrees S 52.5 degrees W, the final position Shackleton’s crew recorded for the Endurance.
Moreover, the crew tweeted that
We must to thank the South African crew members of the Agulhas II for getting us so far into this harsh terrain. It is not easy to operate in. We are also proud that today we have some of the first women – African and European alike – to reach here.
Before voyaging to the wreck area, the expedition issued a subsea survey of the Larsen C ice shelf using ROVs and AUVs.
As the expedition’s chief scientist, Professor Julian Dowdeswell stated, the data will enable oceanographers and glaciologists understand the contemporary stability and past behaviour of Larsen C, with its wider implications for ice sheet stability more generally.
As the expedition team is already in the Weddell Sea, it will make attempts to locate Endurance and survey the area.
In addition, the crew noted that if they locate the wreck, they will not disturb it or touch it.
Finally, the expedition leader Mensun Bound reported
We believe that through the deployment of the best possible technology and a world-leading exploration team, we can achieve something truly unique that would be a landmark moment in polar history.
