Overview
- Engineer Jukka Tuhkuri of Aalto University, a member of the 2022 Endurance22 wreck team, published the analysis in a polar-science journal using original plans, crew diaries and comparative ship data.
- The study identifies missing diagonal bracing, an oversized and poorly supported engine-room bay, and unfavorable proportions as structural flaws that made the hull susceptible to compressive ice forces.
- Tuhkuri cites Shackleton’s own letter describing Endurance as weaker than his previous ships and notes Shackleton had earlier advised adding diagonal reinforcements to the German expedition ship Deutschland.
- The findings challenge the long-held narrative that a torn-off rudder sealed the ship’s fate, concluding that pack-ice pressure fatally breached the hull.
- Endurance22 participants and polar historians describe the evidence as convincing, while suggested reasons for Shackleton’s choice of ship, such as time pressure or finances, remain speculative.