See the Wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ in Astonishing Detail With This New 3D Scan

For the past century, Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance has been resting on the seafloor near Antarctica. Submerged in the frigid waters of the Weddell Sea, the famed vessel sank after getting stuck in pack ice in 1915.

Some experts have raised concerns that the wooden ship might eventually decay. But at least for now, it remains remarkably well-preserved.

A newly released 3D digital scan shows that much of the ship is still intact, according to BBC News’ Rebecca Morelle and Alison Francis. In fact, Endurance looks much like it did when it sank on November 21, 1915. Everyday items used by the crew—including dining plates, a boot and a flare gun—are still easily recognizable among the protected wreckage.

The 3D model was created from more than 25,000 high-resolution images captured after the iconic vessel was discovered in March 2022.

The digital scan was released last week to mark the debut of a new National Geographic documentary that explores the historic expedition and the 2022 search for the ship. Called Endurance, the film debuted at the London Film Festival on October 12. It will be available on Disney+ later this fall.

ENDURANCE | Official Trailer | National Geographic Documentary Films

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The documentary incorporates footage and photos captured during the expedition by Australian photographer Frank Hurley, who brought several cameras along for the journey. As the Endurance began to sink, Hurley threw himself into the water to save his photographic equipment.

Filmmakers have color-treated Hurley’s black-and-white images and footage for the first time. They also used artificial intelligence to recreate crew members’ voices to “read” their own diary entries.

“It's a new type of documentary,” says Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, who co-directed the film with her husband, Jimmy Chin, to Forbes’ Tony Bradley.

Exploring the Endurance, virtually

The new 3D scan offers a detailed, close-up look at the ship, which sits nearly two miles below the surface. To create it, expedition members deployed underwater robots equipped with cameras. Later, experts stitched the photos together to produce a detailed model. Similar processes have been used to produce 3D scans of other famous shipwrecks, including the Titanic.

The scan shows the entire 144-foot Endurance from bow to stern, as well as the surrounding scene—including grooves on the seafloor it made as it came to rest.

“The preservation is ridiculous,” marine archaeologist Mensun Bound, the director of exploration for the Endurance22 expedition, tells the Hollywood Reporter’s Sean Kingsley. “You could still lean against the standing rails at the bows and peer through the portholes into the inky black cabin where Shackleton slept.”

The 3D scan also revealed several artifacts, including the flare gun Hurley fired “as a tribute to the ship” as it sank, according to John Shears, the leader of the expedition to find the Endurance.

“Hurley gets this flare gun, and he fires the flare gun into the air with a massive detonator,” Shears tells BBC News. “And then in the diary, he talks about putting it down on the deck. And there we are. We come back over 100 years later, and there’s that flare gun. Incredible.”

Additionally, the scan revealed a lone boot that experts suspect belonged to Shackleton’s second-in-command, Frank Wild. Zooming out, the digital replica also offers insights into how the pack ice warped and crushed the vessel’s hull and masts. In the future, scientists may also use the 3D scans to learn more about the geology of the sea floor or the creatures that are now living among the wreckage, per BBC News.

The enduring appeal of the Endurance

In 1914, Shackleton and a crew of 27 men set sail from England aboard the Endurance. Their goal? To cross Antarctica on foot from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea.

They made it to Antarctica. However, in early 1915, the ship became trapped in pack ice. Shackleton and his men spent the next ten months waiting for spring, but the ice eventually twisted and crushed the vessel beyond repair.

After the ship sank, the men spent five days at sea in lifeboats before reaching Elephant Island. They landed safely but were still hundreds of miles from anyone who could help rescue them. Shackleton decided to take action. He and five men climbed into a small whaling boat and sailed 800 miles across the open sea to South Georgia Island. All 28 men survived—and Shackleton went down in the history books as a hero.

The ill-fated voyage—and the subsequent rescue mission—continues to serve as a source of fascination to this day. The new documentary is just the latest in a long line of movies, books and TV shows to tell the story.

“Especially in an age where so many people are attached to their devices, there’s something compelling about the human drive to push at the frontiers of what’s possible,” Vasarhelyi tells the London Times’ Rachel Halliburton. “There are so many moments in the Shackleton story when you think, ‘No way!’”

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Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.