Endurance (1912 ship)

The Endurance was a three-masted barquentine polar exploration vessel launched in 1912. She is best known as the ship used by Sir Ernest Shackleton for his ill-fated 1914–1917 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

Commissioned by Adrien de Gerlache for Antarctic tourism and exploration, the Endurance was built in Sandefjord, Norway. She was designed to withstand the harsh conditions of the Antarctic ice and was considered a state-of-the-art vessel for her time.

In 1914, Shackleton acquired the Endurance for his expedition to cross Antarctica via the South Pole. The ship departed South Georgia Island in December 1914, but became trapped in pack ice in the Weddell Sea in January 1915. Despite the crew's efforts to free her, the Endurance drifted with the ice for months, eventually being crushed and sinking in November 1915.

The crew of the Endurance, led by Shackleton, survived for months on the drifting ice floes before reaching Elephant Island. Shackleton and a small crew then embarked on a perilous journey in a lifeboat to South Georgia to seek rescue. After several attempts, the remaining members of the Endurance expedition were successfully rescued in August 1916.

The wreck of the Endurance remained undiscovered for over a century. In March 2022, the Endurance22 expedition, using advanced underwater technology, successfully located the wreck at a depth of approximately 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) in the Weddell Sea. The wreck was found to be remarkably well-preserved due to the cold, deep waters. The discovery of the Endurance is considered a significant event in maritime history and provides valuable insights into the challenges faced by polar explorers.