Famed polar exploration ship Endurance not as strong as legend held, researcher says

"What if one of the most famous and formidable Antarctic exploration vessels in history, whose crew's story of shipwreck and survival has been told for more than a century, wasn't as strong as legend had it? A new research paper about the vessel Endurance casts doubt on some common beliefs about explorer Ernest Shackleton's ship, particularly that it was one of the most well-built ships of its era and that it went down due to the loss of its rudder after becoming trapped in sea ice in 1915."

""Neither of that is true," said Jukka Tuhkuri, who wrote the paper and is a professor at Aalto University in Finland, where he studies sea ice and arctic marine technology. "It was not a strong ship compared to other ships of its time, and it did not sink because of the rudder." Tuhkuri conducted ice science research aboard the 2022 expedition that located the wreckage of Endurance. The trip got him curious about why the ship sank."

Common beliefs that Endurance ranked among the most well-built ships of its era and that rudder loss caused its sinking are incorrect. Technical analysis and historical records reveal structural shortcomings that made the vessel ill-suited for polar ice conditions. The wreck was located during a 2022 expedition, prompting detailed examination of drawings, photographs and personal letters. Evidence shows comparative construction weaknesses versus an earlier ship, and Shackleton himself acknowledged those deficiencies. Endurance was originally named Polaris and was built for Arctic tourism before being acquired for polar exploration.

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