Wreck of Last Ship of British Explorer Shackleton Found Off Coast of Labrador

Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton is shown as he arrived in New York on the Aquitania in 1921. The wreck of the last ship belonging to the famed explorer of Antarctica has been found off the coast of Labrador by an international team led by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Quest was found using sonar scans on Sunday evening, June 9, 2024, sitting on its keel under 390 metres of water. (AP Photo, File)

The last ship that carried polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton has been found off the coast of Labrador by a team from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS).

The ship, dubbed Quest, was found on June 9 through the use of sonar scans, just five days into the expedition. It was found in 390 metres (1,280 feet) of water, the society said during a June 11 news conference.

“I heard that some Americans were interested in finding Quest, and I just had this picture in my mind of a few billionaires on yachts, up in the Labrador Sea,” John Geiger, leader of the Shackleton Quest Expedition and chief executive of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, said during the conference.

“We’ve done it the right way. It’s not about anyone’s ego, it’s about telling great stories and celebrating some of the finest human attributes,” Mr. Geiger said.

Quest sank in May 1962 after being damaged by ice while on a sealing expedition. Its Norwegian crew survived.

Researchers said the mast was found lying broken beside the ship, likely breaking off as the vessel went under.

Mr. Shackleton died of a heart attack aboard the ship in 1922 during a trip to Antarctica. The Irish-born British explorer was 47 years old. He had led three British expectations to the Antarctic.

Quest was a Norwegian-built schooner-rigged steamship. Mr. Shackleton had bought it specifically to travel Canada’s Arctic, Mr. Geiger said. The plans were axed by the Canadian government, and Mr. Shackleton decided to head to the Antarctic again.

After the explorer’s death, the ship was acquired by a Norwegian company and was used for expeditions, Arctic rescues, and even served in the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II, according to an RCGS news release. It was then used as a sealing ship until it sank.

The vessel appears to be in “incredible condition,” though it did suffer some damage when it hit the seabed, Mr. Geiger said.

The co-patrons of the expedition were Mr. Shackleton’s granddaughter, the Hon. Alexandra Shackleton, and Traditional Chief Mi’sel Joe of the Miawpukek First Nation, in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Ms. Shackleton said it had been her “dream” to find Quest, one that was fulfilled in the year marking the 150th anniversary of her grandfather’s birth.

Quest sank in the waters off of Mi’kmaq, Innu, and Inuit territories, said Chief Joe, and he was happy that he could share local knowledge with the captain and crew of the search vessel and that First Nations company Miawpukek Horizon Marine had assisted in planning the expedition.

Quest will be documented and studied where it lays as it would be too expensive to bring it to the surface, Mr. Geiger said.

It’s expected that a team will begin recording footage of the ship with a remotely operated vehicle before the end of summer.

It’s not the first ship used by Mr. Shackleton that has been discovered underwater. The Endurance was discovered in 2022 in the Weddell Seas, about 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) under the surface, near the Antarctica Peninsula.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.