Shackleton's Endurance: Race to Protect Historic Antarctic Wreck

The Race Against Time to Preserve a Polar Icon

The harsh temperatures, treacherous currents, and shifting pack ice of the Antarctic's Weddell Sea crushed and sank Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, in 1915. For more than a century, these inhospitable conditions helped protect the lost wreck, which was discovered in 2022 with its structure still largely intact. Now, conservationists fear that rapidly changing climate conditions and the potential for exploration vessels to access the ship may pose a threat to this world-famous wreck.

A New Threat to a Historic Survivor

Marine biologists have already discovered what they believe could be a new species of wood-eating crustacean living on the wreck. In Antarctica, unlike warmer oceans, no timber-eating creatures have been recorded, which is part of the reason the ship has remained intact for so long. Dr. Huw Griffiths notes, "It is likely this species is new to science... it could be a deep-sea species from elsewhere. Is it something that will eat the wreck?"

The Push for Special Protection Status

To safeguard the Endurance for future generations, the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) has proposed that the ship and the surrounding sea become the region's first specially protected underwater area. "This is about foresight," says Camilla Nichol, chief executive of the UKAHT. "What's going to happen in the next, 10, 20, 30 years? In the last 10 years there's been much less cover [provided by] seasonal ice and we know there's more shipping."

International Support and Remaining Hurdles

Last month, at a meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, of countries that govern human activities in the Antarctic, the proposal for a protected area was passed without dissent. However, the proposal still needs to be agreed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which meets in September. The CCAMLR is made up of 27 member states, including China and Russia, and has been mired in geopolitical stalemate over setting up marine protected areas.

The Last Frontier's Growing Accessibility

"The Antarctic is the last frontier, which adds to its appeal and accessibility will only increase," Nichol explains. At the same time, "shipwrecks have always held a romantic appeal," and "submarine activity is growing." The Endurance lies on the seabed in the ocean's "midnight zone" at 3,000 meters below the surface, a similar depth to the Titanic. Vessels travelling to the Antarctic already require a permit from a signatory of the Antarctic treaty to go within a 1.5km radius of the historic site.

Preserving a Legacy for Future Generations

Making the zone where the Endurance lies an Antarctic specially protected area would prohibit entry unless rigorous conditions were satisfied. "We would love to see what is inside the wreck, when technology permits," says Nichol. The submersible expedition that found the lost ship was unable to enter it but produced remarkable 3D images of its exterior. "South Korea, Japan, Norway, everyone around that table [last month], agreed that it matters," Nichol adds. "Culture, heritage, our stories matter to us and they matter to the rest of the world."