US EditionStudy Claims Shackleton Knew Endurance Was Fatally Flawed
New findings show Shackleton knew Endurance was weaker than other polar ships and not designed for Antarctic ice pressures, with some ships enduring up to 2.7 times greater loads.
- Long ago, Sir Ernest Shackleton's three-masted ship Endurance was crushed by Antarctic sea ice and sank in the Weddell Sea, with the wreck later found at 3,000 meters.
- Engineering review of the vessel indicates Endurance was not designed for compressive pack ice, and Sir Ernest Shackleton was aware of these weaknesses before sailing.
- Structural comparison shows Endurance had weaker deck beams and frames, an unusually long machine compartment, no diagonal bracing, and other early wooden polar ships endured 1.7 to 2.7 times more compressional load.
- The entire crew survived, with all 28 crew members enduring the ordeal before rescue, and the findings published in the Polar Record journal renewed interest through recent research and a National Geographic documentary.
- The study concludes compacting ice tore off the keel rather than the rudder, and Jukka Tuhkuri is researching arctic marine technology to improve ship design for changing polar conditions.
35 Articles
35 Articles
Mystery solved? Researcher challenges long-held theory of what sank Shackleton's Endurance in Antarctic ice
New study reveals Sir Ernest Shackleton's Endurance sank due to engineering flaws in the engine room and inadequate bracing for Antarctic ice compression.
Ernest Shackleton’s doomed Endurance wasn’t built to handle polar ice — and he knew it, new analysis finds
When explorer Ernest Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, got trapped in pack ice, a broken rudder was blamed. New analysis suggests structural weakness caused the sinking.
Undoubtedly one of the most dramatic and symbolic images of the great adventure, cold and tragic, of the heroic conquest of the poles is that of the Endurance the ship of Ernest Shackleton's legendary expedition to Antarctica caught in 1915 on the bank and turned into an ice golgotha before sinking. The shocking photos taken by Frank Hurley, a member of the expedition, including those taken on the polar night with the sailboat stormed by the pre…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 62% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
