Researchers have captured the first close-up views of Quest, the last ship used by famed Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. The vessel rests deep in the Labrador Sea, where an international team reached the wreck with the crewed submersible Alvin and the Falcon remotely operated vehicle.
The mission was led by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in partnership with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. While the wreck was found in 2024 using side-scan sonar, researchers only had outline images at the time. This return trip offered a close look at the ship’s condition and the chance to record every visible detail.
Much of Quest still sits on the seafloor. The bow stands out clearly, parts of the deck remain in place, and several portholes survive. The main mast has collapsed. Pink corals now cover large areas of the wreck, while cod, redfish, and wolffish swim around the site.
John Geiger, expedition leader and chief executive of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, joined the first dive to the wreck. He said seeing the ship emerge from the darkness was an emotional moment. Looking at the deck where Shackleton once stood gave the team a strong sense of history.
The visit also showed damage caused after the ship sank. Large fishing nets cover parts of the wreck, making some sections hard to study. Geiger said the nets have damaged the site and serve as a reminder of the lasting effect of human activity on the ocean.
Researchers plan to spend three days surveying the wreck. They are using underwater photogrammetry from Canadian company Voyis to build a detailed three-dimensional digital copy of the ship. The model will give scientists a lasting record while allowing people around the world to view the wreck without disturbing the site.
Dwight Coleman, co-chief scientist from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said the team is combining the first human visit to Quest in more than 60 years with advanced 3D imaging. New mapping methods give scientists a far better way to study historic shipwrecks and share them with the public.
Operating a crewed submersible around a shipwreck takes careful planning. Alvin pilot Bruce Strickrott said every dive depends on experienced teams working together in difficult underwater conditions.
Quest holds an important place in polar history. Shackleton died aboard the ship in 1922 at the age of 47 while sailing toward Antarctica on what was planned as his final expedition. He had already become one of history’s best-known polar explorers after leading the Endurance expedition. During that mission, his crew survived nearly two years trapped in Antarctic ice before making a long journey to safety.
After Shackleton’s death, Quest was sold to a Norwegian family and spent about four decades working as a sealing vessel in Arctic waters. The ship sank on May 5, 1962, after ice floes crushed the hull during the end of a sealing season in the Labrador Sea.
The expedition will continue with another historic target. The team plans to sail toward Greenland to survey Terra Nova, the last ship used by British explorer Robert Falcon Scott. Scott reached the South Pole in 1912, five weeks after Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, then died with four companions during the return trip.
Quest and Terra Nova share another link. Both later worked as sealing ships in Canadian waters. Shackleton had even planned to take Quest to the Canadian Arctic before changing his plans and heading south.
Marine archaeologists, historians, ecologists, shipwreck experts, and imaging specialists make up the research team. Their work will preserve detailed digital records of both famous wrecks and help future studies of two ships tied to the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration.