The three-mast wooden ship had not been seen since it sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915, having been gradually crushed by pack ice. In February this year, the Endurance22 Expedition set off from Cape Town, South Africa, one month after the 100th anniversary of Sir Ernest’s death on a mission to locate it.
The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust said Endurance was found at a depth of 3,008 metres and approximately four miles south of the position originally recorded by the ship’s captain Frank Worsley.
The ship was located using two battery-powered submersibles - undersea drones - which combed the seafloor in six-hour stretches twice a day, using sonar to scan the seabed and identify any objects standing proud. Once the wreck had been located, the equipment was swapped for high-resolution cameras in order to capture the wreck in greater detail.
Mensun Bound, the expedition’s director of exploration, said footage of Endurance showed it to be intact and “by...