Researcher solves thriller behind Shackleton’s Endurance ship sinking

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A researcher believes he is cracked the thriller behind the sinking of Sir Ernest Shackleton's legendary ship Endurance.

A part of one of the crucial well-known Antarctic expeditions in historical past, Endurance set sail from England to the White Continent in August 1914. On Jan. 18, 1915, the ship turned frozen in place about 76 miles from the coast of Antarctica.

Locked in sea ice for the subsequent ten months, Endurance drifted slowly throughout the Weddell Sea till it sank on Nov. 21, 1915.

The ship is so well-known as a result of its sinking was disastrous, however not tragic – Shackleton guided all 27 crew members to security and was capable of slowly take away cargo, supplies and boats earlier than the vessel sank.

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<source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/343/192/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/686/384/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="192" width="343"><source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/672/378/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1344/756/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/931/523/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1862/1046/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"><source media="(min-width: 1280px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/720/405/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1440/810/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="405" width="720"> Researchers say new proof exhibits Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance sank from engineering flaws, not simply crushing Antarctic ice strain. (Bettmann by way of Getty Photos; George Rinhart/Corbis by way of Getty Photos)

In an Oct. 6 article within the journal Polar Report, Aalto College professor Jukka Tuhkuri argues that the wrongdoer of the sinking lay not within the strain of the ice, however within the ship's structural weaknesses.

On the time, Endurance was considered practically indestructible, however Tuhkuri's analysis suggests its fame was unwarranted.

The Finnish researcher argues the ship's loss stemmed from deeper engineering flaws, not simply injury to its rudder. The vessel was constructed for Arctic, however not fairly Antarctic, situations.

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"Whereas the ultimate cause was tearing off the keel, Endurance sank as a result of the vessel was merely crushed in compression by ice," wrote Tuhkuri.

<source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/343/192/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/686/384/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="192" width="343"><source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/672/378/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1344/756/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/931/523/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1862/1046/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"><source media="(min-width: 1280px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/720/405/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1440/810/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="405" width="720"> "Endurance was not designed for compressive situations within the Antarctic pack ice, however for simpler situations on the ice edge within the Arctic," stated Tuhkuri. (Frank Hurley/Scott Polar Analysis Institute, College of Cambridge/Getty Photos)

"This isn't stunning, Endurance was not designed for compressive situations within the Antarctic pack ice, however for simpler situations on the ice edge within the Arctic."

The polar engineering professional consulted letters from Shackleton and expedition diaries throughout his analysis, in addition to conducting a structural evaluation of the ship itself.

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Its engine room lacked cross-beams to distribute compressive forces, and the hull had restricted diagonal bracing, which left it susceptible to side-to-side crushing by ice.

<source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/343/192/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-4.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/686/384/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-4.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="192" width="343"><source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/672/378/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-4.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1344/756/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-4.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/931/523/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-4.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1862/1046/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-4.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"><source media="(min-width: 1280px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/720/405/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-4.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1440/810/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-4.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="405" width="720"> Shackleton's crew survived months stranded on ice after Endurance sank, a feat of management and endurance itself. (Underwood Archives/Getty Photos)

"The weakest a part of its hull was the engine room space, which was not solely bigger than in different early Antarctic ships but additionally lacked beams to present power in opposition to compression by ice," the article particulars.

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"Comparability with different picket polar ships isn't beneficial for Endurance: ships designed for compressive pack ice had been stronger. Additionally it is evident from archive analysis that Shackleton was nicely conscious of the weaknesses of Endurance even earlier than his expedition set sail for Antarctica."

The analysis comes over three years after the remains of Endurance had been discovered roughly 9,840 toes beneath the floor of the Weddell Sea in 2022.

<source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/343/192/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-3.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/686/384/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-3.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="192" width="343"><source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/672/378/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-3.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1344/756/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-3.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/931/523/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-3.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1862/1046/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-3.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"><source media="(min-width: 1280px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/720/405/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-3.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1440/810/antarctica-sir-ernest-shackleton-endurance-shipwreck-research-archaeology-3.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="405" width="720"> Endurance drifted helplessly for ten months earlier than the crushing pressure of ice tore by its hull. (Frank Hurley/Scott Polar Analysis Institute, College of Cambridge/Getty Photos)

Mensun Sure, director of exploration for the Endurance22 expedition, known as the vessel "by far the best picket shipwreck I've ever seen."

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"It's upright, nicely happy with the seabed, intact, and in a superb state of preservation," Sure reported. "You possibly can even see ‘Endurance' arced throughout the strict, instantly beneath the taffrail."