Wreckage Found
Wreckage hunters have discovered the ship Quest, once captained by Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, nearly intact on the ocean floor 17.9 miles off the coast of Canada.
Shackleton died aboard the Quest from a heart attack in January 1922. The Quest not only holds the history of his expeditions but also artifacts from voyages up until 1962, when it sank.
"The discovery of the Quest is one of the final chapters in the extraordinary life of Ernest Shackleton," said John Geiger, expedition leader and CEO of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
International Team's Effort
An international team of experts located the Quest using sonar equipment on June 9 after 17 hours of searching a 27.6 square-mile area, according to CNN. Before the ship's discovery, the team spent months analyzing data to narrow down the best location to search for the wreck, said marine archaeologist David Mearns, who led the search.
Shackleton's Final Journey
Shackleton was on his fourth expedition to the Antarctic when he passed away at age 47 while the ship was anchored off South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic. The renowned polar explorer was buried there while the ship and crew completed the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition. However, heavy pack ice prevented them from completing the voyage, and the Quest returned to Cape Town, South Africa, according to the Natural History Museum in London.
Quest's Continued Voyages
Shackleton had originally intended the Quest for an Arctic expedition to Canada but was denied permission by the Canadian Prime Minister at the time. His death marked the end of a golden age of Antarctic exploration.
However, the Quest's journeys did not end there. After being sold to a Norwegian company, it embarked on several more expeditions and eventually became a sealer ship. The Quest sank on May 5, 1962, after crashing into ice in the Labrador Sea off Canada. The crew evacuated and marked the ship's final resting place about 1.5 miles from where the expedition team found it.
The Wreck
The ship sank stern first and because of its heavy machinery ended up sitting upright in 1,280 feet of water, according to Mearns. The Royal Canadian Geographical Society hopes to return to the wreck with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) later this year for the second phase of the expedition.
Summary
The discovery of the Quest provides a tangible link to the legacy of Ernest Shackleton, one of the most iconic explorers in history. The ship's well-preserved condition offers the potential for new insights into Shackleton's expeditions and the early 20th-century era of exploration.