“With the discovery of the ‘Endurance’ we made polar history,” said the leader of the expedition, led by the British Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, John Shears, according to a statement on Wednesday. However, the well-preserved wreck is not to be salvaged – for legal reasons. The “Endurance”, whose name can still be read on the wooden wreck, was found at a depth of 3008 meters in an area that the experts had previously delimited. The expedition ship of the former British polar explorer Ernest Shackleton had an accident and sank during the First World War in 1915. The current expedition team, which began their search on a South African research vessel from Cape Town, has now struck gold about four miles south of the location last given by Endurance’s captain, Frank Worsley.
The shipwreck is not to be salvaged, it is protected as a historic site in the Antarctic Treaty. The researchers want to document their spectacular find with photos and videos without damaging the wreck and tell present and future generations of its history.
“This is by far the finest shipwreck I’ve ever seen,” said the expedition’s director of research, Mensun Bound. “It stands upright, very proud on the seabed and is intact and in brilliant condition.”
Source: Nachrichten
