Shackleton's lost shipwreck discovered off Antarctica

The expedition left Cape Town on February 5 with a South African icebreaker

The ship's helm has remained intact after more than a century underwater

One of the world's most storied shipwrecks, Ernest Shackleton's Endurance, has been discovered off the coast of Antarctica more than a century after its sinking, explorers announced Wednesday.

Endurance was discovered at a depth of 3,008 metres (9,869 feet) in the Weddell Sea, about six kilometres (four miles) from where it was slowly crushed by pack ice in 1915.

"This is by far the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen. It is upright, well proud of the seabed, intact, and in a brilliant state of preservation. You can even see 'Endurance' arced across the stern," he said in a statement.

As part of Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition between 1914 and 1917, Endurance was meant to make the first land crossing of Antarctica, but it fell victim to the tumultuous Weddell Sea. 

- 'Worst sea in the world' -

The crew managed to escape by camping on the sea ice until it ruptured. 

Despite the hardships, all of the crew survived.

Shackleton himself described the site of the sink as "the worst portion of the worst sea in the world".

"This has been the most complex subsea project ever undertaken," said Nico Vincent, the mission's subsea project manager.

The ship's wooden timbers, while damaged from the crush of ice that sank in, still hold together. Sea anemones, sponges and other small ocean life made homes on the wreckage, but did not appear to have damaged it.

Under international law, the wreck is protected as a historic site. Explorers were allowed to film and scan the ship, but not to touch it at all -- meaning no artefacts may be returned to the surface.

During the mission, they also researched climate change, documenting ice drifts and weather patterns.

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Originally published as Shackleton's lost shipwreck discovered off Antarctica