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6d ago

Study Finds Shackleton’s Endurance Was Built Too Weak for Antarctic Pack Ice

A peer-reviewed analysis using wreck forensics plus archival letters concludes the vessel was built for milder Arctic tours, leaving it vulnerable in compressive Antarctic ice.

The new research analyzed the crushing and sinking of the Endurance from a structural point of view. Shown above is Aalto University’s Ice and Wave Tank.
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Overview

  • The Polar Record paper by Aalto University’s Jukka Tuhkuri concludes Endurance was structurally weaker than contemporary polar ships and not designed for compressive pack ice.
  • Key deficiencies included weak deck beams and frames, an unusually long machine compartment that reduced hull strength, and a lack of diagonal bracing, with compression ultimately ripping away the keel.
  • Archival material indicates Ernest Shackleton knew of the ship’s shortcomings before departure, including letters lamenting its construction and prior advice to add diagonal bracing on another vessel.
  • The reassessment was enabled by the Endurance22 team’s 2022 discovery and the wreck’s exceptional preservation, which allowed detailed structural forensics.
  • The study challenges the long-held rudder-failure narrative, offers lessons for modern polar ship design, and stops short of assigning motives for Shackleton’s choice of vessel.