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THE wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s last expedition ship has finally been found 62 years after it sank.
Legendary explorer Shackleton – who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic – died on board steamship Quest before it sank on a 1962 seal hunting voyage.
Canadian Geographic
Canadian Geographic
Royal Geographical Society via G
Using sonar equipment, the shipwreck was discovered at a depth of 390m five days into a landmark expedition led by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
Expedition Leader John Geiger led a team of experts to track down the wreck – including the world-renowned shipwreck hunter David Mearns.
Geiger said finding Quest represents a last link to the “heroic age of Antarctic exploration”.
The discovery was the result of painstaking work by the team, Mearns said.
They researched historic logs and maps, and cross referenced the data with technology to pinpoint the ship’s location based on currents and weather conditions.
Mearns said: “I can definitively confirm that we have found the wreck of the Quest. She is intact.
“Data from high resolution side scan sonar imagery corresponds exactly with the known dimensions and structural features of this special ship.
“It is also consistent with events at the time of the sinking.”
The crew confirmed the ship was found lying upright on the seabed -and in one piece.
On May 5, 1962, Quest was damaged by ice and sank off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. All the Norwegian crew survived.
Years earlier, Shackleton died on board Quest while it was anchored in the harbour at Grytviken, South Georgia, on January 5, 1922.
He was on his fourth journey to the Antarctic, The Shackleton Rowett Expedition.
Seven years before, the heroic explorer saved all 27 members of his crew after their ship, Endurance, was trapped and sunk by sea ice during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
The discovery of Quest represents the last major part of the jigsaw in piecing together Shackleton’s physical legacy.
His granddaughter, and expedition co-patron, Alexandra Shackleton, said it was her “dream” to find Quest.
That dream has been realised 150 years after Shackleton was born.
Finding Quest is one of the final chapters in the extraordinary story of Sir Ernest Shackleton
John GeigerAlexandra said: “My grandfather, Sir Ernest Shackleton, had purchased
Quest with the intention of leading a Canadian Arctic expedition.
“It is perhaps fitting that the ship should have ended its storied service in Canadian waters.
“I have long hoped for this day and am grateful to those who made this incredible discovery.”
The expedition team included experts from Canada, the UK, Norway and the US – made up of oceanographers, historians and divers.
Geiger, the expedition leader and CEO of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, said: “Finding Quest is one of the final chapters in the extraordinary story of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
“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 on any of the ships under his direct command.”
Canadian Geographic
Tore Topp
PA
Getty
GettyMartin Brooks, CEO of British expedition company Shackleton, added: “The finding of Quest is an important new chapter in the story of Ernest Shackleton and polar history.
“An iconic vessel, she marked the end of the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration. It is an honour to have supported this historic discovery.”
The expedition team included Jan Chojecki, grandson of John Quiller Rowett, the man who financed Shackleton’s final journey to the Antarctic.
Also on board was Norwegian Tore Topp whose family owned Quest from 1923 to 1962.
The Shackleton Rowett Expedition is acknowledged to be the final chapter in the so-called Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
It saw polar titans Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen lead pioneering expeditions to the frozen continent.
Quest was originally built in Risør, Norway in 1917 as the wooden- hulled sealer Foca 1.
She was renamed Quest by Lady Emily Shackleton.
Shackleton died of a heart attack on board Quest on January 5, 1922 while the ship was anchored off Grytviken, South Georgia. He was 47.
When Shackleton died, he was in the early stages of a journey to explore several islands and uncharted areas of the sub-Antarctic region.
The finding of Quest is an important new chapter in the story of Ernest Shackleton and polar history
Martin BrooksAfter his death, Quest was acquired by a Norwegian company, and was involved in a series of expeditions, including the 1930-31 British Arctic Air Route Expedition led by British explorer Gino Watkins, who tragically died aged 25 while exploring Greenland.
Quest was also used in Arctic rescues and served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, before resuming work as a sealing ship.
In 2022, the wreck of Shackleton’s ship Endurance was finally found off the coast of Antarctica – 107 years after it sank.
The lost ship had not been seen since it was crushed by ice and sank in the Weddell Sea on November 21, 1915.
Endurance was found at a depth of 3,008m and four miles south of the position recorded by the ship’s Captain Frank Worsley, according to the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust.
Even though the wreck had been sitting in water for more than a century, Endurance22 Expedition’s director said Endurance was “by far the finest wooden shipwreck” he has ever seen.
The ship is said to look much the same as when it was photographed for the final time by Shackleton’s filmmaker, Frank Hurley, in 1915.
The shipwreck is a designated monument under the international Antarctic Treaty and must not be disturbed in any way.
Shackleton had set out to make the first land crossing of Antarctica – but he had to abandon the quest when Endurance was trapped and holed by sea-ice.
Miraculously, the brave explorer managed to get his men to safety on foot and on small lifeboats.
The shipwreck of Endurance was finally found in 2022 – 107 years after it sankPA
Endurance sunk after it was trapped and holed by sea-iceGetty
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