Thanks to a digital 3D scan created from over 25,000 high-resolution images, the legendary Endurance shipwreck can be explored like never before. On November 21, 1915, the ship sank 3,000 meters into the icy depths off Antarctica, and thankfully, all crew members survived to tell their stories. Now, the 3D scan created by Deep Ocean Search, Voyis Imaging, and McGill University allows you to explore the lost ship in incredible detail.
In 1914, Anglo-Irish explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton set out on a bold mission: to cross the entire Antarctic continent from coast to coast. He and his crew of 27 men set sail aboard the Endurance, but their journey quickly took a dramatic turn. The Endurance became trapped in packed ice within weeks of setting off from South Georgia, drifting helplessly for 10 months before the crew was forced to abandon it.
After spending over a century two miles beneath the Weddell Sea, the Endurance was found to be in remarkably good condition. The new 3D scan was made after the ship’s rediscovery in 2022 using underwater robots that photographed the wreck from every angle. These images were then “stitched” together to create a digital reconstruction of the ship.
The scan reveals how the ship was crushed by ice, but much of the structure main is largely left intact. The images even reveal items left behind by the crew, including dining plates, a boot, and even a flare gun, all still easily recognizable among the wreckage. According to crew journals, the flare was fired by Frank Hurley, the expedition’s photographer.
“Hurley gets this flare gun, and he fires the flare gun into the air with a massive detonator as a tribute to the ship,” reveals Dr John Shears who led the 2022 expedition that found Endurance. “And then in the diary, he talks about putting it down on the deck. And there we are. We come back over 100 years later, and there's that flare gun, incredible.”
Since it’s in one of the most remote areas of the world, the Endurance is likely to remain where it lies. However, the digital replica offers a new way to study it in detail. Mensum Bound, Director of Exploration for Endurance22 says, “Endurance remains beautifully preserved on the seabed in virtually the same state as when she was when she sank on 21st November 1915. Just as the crew left her.”
Discover more about this incredible expedition and explore the 3D scan of Endurance on the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust website. You can also stream the new Endurance documentary on Hulu and Disney+.
A new 3D scan created from over 25,000 high-resolution images allows you to explore the legendary Endurance shipwreck like never before.
The images even reveal items left behind by Ernest Shackleton and his crew, as well as some of the ships decorative details.
The Endurance sank 3,000 meters into the icy depths off Antarctica on November 21, 1915.
All 27 crew members survived, and now, a new film features colorized footage from their 10 months stranded on the ice.
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Watch the trailer for the National Geographic documentary below.
Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust: Website
National Geographic Documentary Films: Website | Facebook | Instagram | X
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust / National Geographic.
Source: See the Wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ in Astonishing Detail With This New 3D Scan.
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