Finding & Modelling Shackleton’s Sunken Ship in Antarctica in 1915

The wrecked ship of the Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition, SS Endurance, stuck in the ice in the Weddell Sea, circa January 1915. (Photo by Photo12/UIG/Getty Images)

Voyis is excited to announce that they will be providing their Insight Pro underwater laser scanner and Observer stills camera system for the Endurance22 project. The project sets out to locate and document Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, believed to be at a depth of over 3000m. Shackleton was a famous polar explorer whose ship sunk in the Antarctic in 1915.

The deployment is set to take place in February 2022, launching from Cape Town. Once the wreck has been located, survey operations will take place from SAAB Sabertooth hybrid underwater vehicles (AUVs) under the sea ice. The Insight Pro will be integrated into the vehicle to generate 3D models of the historic shipwreck and the Observer camera will capture high-resolution, true colour images simultaneously. These powerful optical sensors will send 3D laser data and crisp stills images to the surface in real-time for instantaneous visualization of the wreck.

The combination of laser data and stills images enables a level of quantifiable subsea exploration never before attained at these depths, allowing scientists to learn the true nature of this historic artifact.