Endurance (1912 ship)

Endurance was a ship in which Sir Ernest Shackleton and a crew of 27 men and one cat sailed for the Antarctic on the 1914–1917 while they were on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. It was launched in 1912 from Sandefjord in Norway. Three years later, it was crushed by pack ice and sank in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica. All of its crew survived.

History and construction

Endurance, initially christened Polaris, hailed from the shipyards of Norway, commissioned by Belgian polar explorer Adrien de Gerlache. The vessel's conception stemmed from a grand scheme to host polar bear hunting excursions for affluent travelers. However, this vision never materialized, leading to the ship's sale to Sir Ernest Shackleton for a sum of £14,000. In 1914, Shackleton acquired the vessel for his ambitious Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. The expedition aimed to achieve a daring feat: traversing the icy expanse of the Antarctic continent from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea via the South Pole.

Endurance was meticulously outfitted for its perilous journey. While rigged as a three-masted barquentine to harness the power of the winds, it also boasted engines to navigate through ice-choked waters when necessary. Constructed from a combination of pine, oak, and clad with greenheart wood—a timber renowned for its exceptional strength and resilience—the ship stood as a testament to human ingenuity and exploration.

The first and last journey

Departing from South Georgia on December 5, 1914, Endurance embarked on its quest southward, aiming to reach the Antarctic coast as it ventured into the ice-laden expanse of the Weddell Sea.

In late February 1915, however, Endurance encountered an insurmountable obstacle: it became ensnared in the grip of the ice. Months passed with the ship and its crew at the mercy of shifting currents and relentless ice floes, which continuously pressed against and released their captive vessel. Eventually, the relentless movement of the ice proved too much to bear. On October 27, 1915, Shackleton made the difficult decision to abandon ship. He vividly described how the ice, in his eyes, was dismantling their vessel: "The ship was lifted stern-up by the pressure, and the advancing floe, shifting laterally across the stern, splintered the rudder, tore out the rudder post and stern post... the decks were fracturing upwards, and water inundated the lower compartments."

Following their departure from the doomed vessel, the 28 men endured six months of harsh living conditions on the ice, dwelling in tents before embarking on a grueling boat journey to Elephant Island amidst treacherous icebergs and tumultuous storms.

Subsequently, Shackleton and four companions, including Frank Worsley, embarked on a daring 800-mile voyage in the 22-foot James Caird to South Georgia. Their mission: to raise the alarm and orchestrate the rescue of the remaining crew stranded on Elephant Island. This feat was accomplished on August 30, 1916, after five valiant attempts, nearly two years after their initial departure from South Georgia.

On 9 March 2022, 107 years later, it was announced that the wreck of Endurance was found in "good condition".