Famous shipwreck in Antarctica receives protection zone to save it

A partnership between two conservation organizations has developed a plan to preserve the Endurance Shipwreck, a beautifully preserved schooner on the bottom of the Weddell Sea. The additional protection measures, the partnership says, will ensure the preservation of the wreck for years to come.

Endurance was a three-master that was part of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s exploration of Antarctica. Endurance sank after becoming trapped in the Antarctic ice in 1915. The Endurance22 expedition found the wreck in 2022 at a depth of 2,987 meters. The wreck lies upright on the seabed and is remarkably well preserved, largely due to the lack of wood-eating organisms in the freezing Antarctic waters.

Why is this Endurance Shipwreck needs protection?

The accelerating melting of the Antarctic ice and the fascination with the shipwreck mean that the area is attracting more and more visitors, both tourists and commercial fishermen, so the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (in partnership with Historic England) has introduced a plan to preserve the wreck.

An immediate recommendation of the plan is to expand the protected area around the wreck from 500m to 1500m. The trust said the expansion would cover a larger part of the wreck’s debris field. “While it does not go so far as to prohibit visits to the area, it does set standards of behavior and permitted activities,” the trust wrote in the press release announcing the plan.

The second immediate recommendation is to designate the wreck site as an Antarctic Area of ​​Special Protection, which would provide the wreck with the highest level of protection within the Antarctic Treaty System. Endurance The shipwreck will be the first maritime heritage site to receive ASPA designation if the application is approved. As the BBC reports, the wreck is already designated as a Historic Site and Monument (HSM). But even under this designation, people are still allowed to approach the wreck, so more precautions are required.

“Endurance sits next to Titanic as one of the world’s most famous shipwrecks, and the story of Shackleton’s expedition and its remarkable rescue mission is of international importance,” said Camilla Nichol, CEO of the trust, in the press release. “I think the resulting Conservation Management Plan supports our aims to ensure that future human activities will only benefit and preserve Endurance.”

Why is the Endurance Shipwreck remarkable?

Endurance was just one of Ernest Shackleton’s ships. Some of Shackleton’s other ships also sank, including Searchwhose wreck was discovered earlier this year. EnduranceThe story of is best known for the determination the crew showed in escaping the desolate conditions of Antarctica. Gizmodo reported on the escape in 2022:

The 28-man crew had to abandon ship and live in makeshift camps on the ice. With the help of lifeboats, the crew eventually reached the uninhabited Elephant Island, from where Shackleton and five others sailed 1,300 km in an extraordinary journey in an open boat. The small crew managed to reach a whaling station on the island of South Georgia. In September 1916, a rescue expedition was launched to recover the remaining crew on Elephant Island. Incredibly, all 28 crew members returned home alive.

As the press release notes, rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification could accelerate the “biological and chemical decay of the shipwreck.” A 3D scan of the Endurance Shipwreck has preserved it digitally, but ensuring the ship itself remains intact requires real on-site stewardship.