Lost in time, 100-year-old ship found 'virtually intact' near Antarctica

SS Endurance
SS Endurance Photo credit Getty Images
By , NewsRadio 1080 KRLD

There may never be a more fitting name for a ship than the Endurance.

In 1914, the ship Endurance departed from London, England, with Ernest Shackleton at the helm and one mission: exploring Antarctica.

A year later, the ship sank in a dense pack of ice, and its crew, never giving up, were all able to survive the treacherous conditions.

However, Endurance never made it to Antarctica as the ship was trapped in a pack of ice. Attempting to free the vessel, Shackleton and his crew would remain stuck in the ice for 10 months.

Eventually, the 28 men on board abandoned their ship, escaping in lifeboats and on foot until they were rescued by another boat, truly living up to their ship's name, Endurance.

Members of an expedition team led by Irish explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton pull one of their lifeboats across the snow in the Antarctic, following the loss of the 'Endurance'.
Members of an expedition team led by Irish explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton pull one of their lifeboats across the snow in the Antarctic, following the loss of the 'Endurance'. Photo credit Hulton Archive/Getty Images

But, while escaping, the captain of the Endurance, Frank Worsley, wrote down where his vessel sank, which played a role in the discovery made over a century later.

Now, 107 years later, the ship was discovered almost 10,000 feet below the Weddell Sea off the coast of Antarctica.

Archaeologists didn't stumble on the ship, as an expedition to find the vessel was launched at the beginning of February, starting their search near Worsley's coordinates, according to a New York Times report from last month.

"It's the most unreachable wreck ever," Mensun Bound, a marine archaeologist and the director of exploration of the expedition Endurance22, told the Times. "Which makes this the greatest wreck hunt of all time."

The ship has spent over a century in the depths of the Weddell Sea, and because of this, the vessel remains in somewhat good condition, according to National Geographic.

Bound confirmed with NBC News that the wooden ship was "virtually intact" when his team discovered it, adding that the "preservation is beyond imagination."

"It's beautiful," Bound said. Adding that in his 30 years of looking for shipwrecks, he has "never ever seen a wreck as bold and beautiful as this."

"It just doesn't get any better," he said.

Shackleton's journey sought to be the first land crossing of Antarctica, shortly after the outbreak of World War I. Unfortunately, while Shackleton would go on to survive his shipwreck in 1915, he would eventually die in 1922.

But now, his story is being told once more as crews begin documenting the Endurance in its icy slumber.

The ship will reportedly be protected as a Historic Site and Monument under the Antarctic Treaty, meaning it will not be disturbed while being surveyed and filmed.

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Featured Image Photo Credit: Getty Images