Image of a large ship pushing through ice

Shipwreck Hunter: The ship hunting Endurance was called the Agulhas II. A crew of 65 people worked aboard the 440-foot-long vessel that was filled with research equipment and science labs.

Saunders Carmichael-Brown/Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust

The Search for Endurance

January 2, 2023

By Alex Winnick

It was March 5, 2022. Scientist Mensun Bound and his team had been sailing for 40 days. Their powerful ship sliced through the sheets of ice covering the surface of the Weddell Sea. This frigid body of water is near Antarctica. It’s also where they hoped to find the wreck of one of history’s most famous ships—Endurance.

Ernest Shackleton’s doomed ship had been lost since sinking more than 100 years ago. Bound’s team was on the hunt to find it!

Under the Sea

Bound and his team had been planning this trip for months. They studied descriptions left by Frank Worsley, captain of the Endurance. Using the notes, Bound came up with a “Search Box,” or search area. It was an area measuring about 8 miles wide and 15 miles long. He guessed the ship had sunk somewhere in that part of the ocean.

The seafloor there is too cold and deep for divers to survive, even in special gear. So Bound brought a new submersible, called Sabertooth. A submersible is a small underwater vehicle. From the ship, Bound’s crew guided Sabertooth as it sent back photos and videos.

Sabertooth dove deep into the Search Box. On its first few tries, it failed to find the shipwreck. But Bound was determined.

Deep Discovery

On March 5, Sabertooth dove 2 miles below the ocean surface. Suddenly, a huge object appeared. A wooden railing came into view. Then other objects became clear. There was a circular window and a wheel. It was the wreck of the Endurance!

“Endurance was sitting upright and beautiful at the bottom of the sea,” says Tim Jacob. He works with Bound and his team. “It looked like it had sunk the day before.”

Experts think the freezing temperature of the Weddell Sea helped preserve the ship. The cold water prevented tiny creatures from eating all the wood. The ship had not rotted away.

Caught on Video

Nick Birtwistle/Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust

This crane was used to move researchers onto and off the ice.

Bound’s crew spent three days mapping the ship and taking videos of it. Anyone interested in the Endurance can now view the maps and footage taken by Sabertooth.

Jacob says museums will be able to create life-sized models of the Endurance for visitors. Would you want to walk through Shackleton’s ship?

Why did Bound need a submersible?
What details help show that Bound and his team were determined to find the Endurance?
Summarize the main ideas in the section “Caught on Video.”