The wreck of the ship that famed explorer Ernest Shackleton died on more than a century ago has been found on the ocean floor off the coast of Canada, according to a news release from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.Shackleton was a legendary explorer who sailed to the edges of the Earth, including four trips to Antarctica. During one notable expedition in 1915, his iconic ship Endurance became trapped by sea ice. The ship sank, but Shackleton and his entire crew survived the episode. The Endurance shipwreck was finally found in 2022.Seven years later, in 1922, Shackleton would die aboard the Quest, a Norwegian vessel, during another expedition to the polar region. Shackleton’s death of a heart attack at 47 ended what historians consider the “Heroic Age of Polar Exploration,” the RCGS said.Ernest Shackleton in 1921, one year before his death. / Credit: APAfter Shackleton’s death, the Quest was acquired by a Norwegian company and continued to sail important expeditions, including the 1930 British Arctic Air Route Expedition, the RCGS said. The ship was also used in Arctic rescues and even was part of the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II.In 1962, while being used as a sealing ship, the Quest was damaged by ice off the coast of Newfoundland and sank. The crew survived, the RCGS said, but the ship landed on the seabed more than 1,200 feet underwater.The wreck was found just a mile and a half away from the ship’s last reported position, but it took sonar equipment and an international team of experts to find the site, the RCGS said. The “Shackleton Quest Expedition” team included participants from Canada, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. Search director David Mearns said that he and lead researcher Antoine Normandin cross-referenced historic logs and maps with historical data to determine where currents and weather conditions may have carried the ship.An archival photo shows the Quest sinking in 1962. / Credit: Royal Canadian Geographical SocietyJust five days into the expedition, the site was found, with historians, divers and oceanographers working together to confirm the wreck’s identity.”In the pantheon of polar ships, Quest is definitely an icon,” Mearns told BBC News On Sunday, the wreck was confirmed to be that of the Quest, the RCGS said.”Finding Quest is one of the final chapters in the extraordinary story of Sir Ernest Shackleton,” said expedition leader John Geiger, CEO of the RCGS, in the news release. “Shackleton was known for his courage and brilliance as a leader in crisis. The tragic irony is that his was the only death to take place o …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnThe wreck of the ship that famed explorer Ernest Shackleton died on more than a century ago has been found on the ocean floor off the coast of Canada, according to a news release from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.Shackleton was a legendary explorer who sailed to the edges of the Earth, including four trips to Antarctica. During one notable expedition in 1915, his iconic ship Endurance became trapped by sea ice. The ship sank, but Shackleton and his entire crew survived the episode. The Endurance shipwreck was finally found in 2022.Seven years later, in 1922, Shackleton would die aboard the Quest, a Norwegian vessel, during another expedition to the polar region. Shackleton’s death of a heart attack at 47 ended what historians consider the “Heroic Age of Polar Exploration,” the RCGS said.Ernest Shackleton in 1921, one year before his death. / Credit: APAfter Shackleton’s death, the Quest was acquired by a Norwegian company and continued to sail important expeditions, including the 1930 British Arctic Air Route Expedition, the RCGS said. The ship was also used in Arctic rescues and even was part of the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II.In 1962, while being used as a sealing ship, the Quest was damaged by ice off the coast of Newfoundland and sank. The crew survived, the RCGS said, but the ship landed on the seabed more than 1,200 feet underwater.The wreck was found just a mile and a half away from the ship’s last reported position, but it took sonar equipment and an international team of experts to find the site, the RCGS said. The “Shackleton Quest Expedition” team included participants from Canada, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. Search director David Mearns said that he and lead researcher Antoine Normandin cross-referenced historic logs and maps with historical data to determine where currents and weather conditions may have carried the ship.An archival photo shows the Quest sinking in 1962. / Credit: Royal Canadian Geographical SocietyJust five days into the expedition, the site was found, with historians, divers and oceanographers working together to confirm the wreck’s identity.”In the pantheon of polar ships, Quest is definitely an icon,” Mearns told BBC News On Sunday, the wreck was confirmed to be that of the Quest, the RCGS said.”Finding Quest is one of the final chapters in the extraordinary story of Sir Ernest Shackleton,” said expedition leader John Geiger, CEO of the RCGS, in the news release. “Shackleton was known for his courage and brilliance as a leader in crisis. The tragic irony is that his was the only death to take place o …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
