The shipwreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s last journey is finally found

Shackleton suffered a fatal heart attack on board, aged 47

The Independent

Shackleton suffered a fatal heart attack on board, aged 47

The ship on which Sir Ernest Shackleton made his final voyage has finally been found.

Shackleton suffered a fatal heart attack on board Quest on January 5, 1922, aged 47, while trying to reach the Antarctic. It has now been located in the Labrador Sea off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada.

After his death, Quest was acquired by a Norwegian company and it was involved in a series of expeditions until May 5, 1962, when it was damaged by ice and sank. All of the crew survived.

A side-scan sonar image shows the wreck of Quest, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s last expedition ship, as it lies upright and intact on the seabed at a depth of 390 metres northwest of St John’s, Newfoundland after sinking more than 100 years ago (RCGS/Reuters)

The Shackleton Quest Expedition, led by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), said on Wednesday that the schooner-rigged vessel was found “intact” lying at a depth of 390m (1,280ft).

Wreck searchers used sonar equipment to aid the discovery, which falls in the 150th year after Shackleton’s birth.

The main mast is broken and hanging over the port side, but otherwise the ship appears to be broadly intact.

The explorer’s grand-daughter Alexandra Shackleton told the BBC: “I was thrilled, really excited to hear the news; I have relief and happiness and a huge admiration for the members of the team”.

“For me, this represents the last discovery in the Shackleton story. It completes the circle.”

Expedition leader John Geiger, of the RCGS, said: “Finding Quest is one of the final chapters in the extraordinary story of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

“Shackleton was known for his courage and brilliance as a leader in crisis. The tragic irony is that his was the only death to take place on any of the ships under his direct command…