UK Antarctic Heritage Trust to partner with Historic England to ensure the wreck of Shackleton’s Endurance will be protected
The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) has announced that work is due to begin on a conservation management plan for the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance, which was located after more than 100 years of searching in March this year.
The conservation plan will be devised by UKAHT, a charity responsible for the conservation of a number of heritage sites in Antarctica, in partnership with Historic England, the public body which champions and protects England’s historic places, including shipwrecks in waters around England.
The wreck of Endurance, the vessel used by Sir Ernest Shackleton during his 1914-16 Antarctic Expedition, was designated as a protected historic site and monument HSM No.93 under the Antarctic Treaty System in 2019.
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A British-led expedition Endurance22, organised and managed by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust (FMHT), discovered the ship 3,008 metres below sea level in the Weddell Sea on 5 March 2022 – one hundred years to the day after Shackleton was buried at Grytviken, South Georgia.
The Conservation Management Plan which has been commissioned by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will take two years to develop and will be presented to the Committee for Environmental Protection at the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative meeting.
The plan will aim to communicate the importance of the site, identify the unique challenges and opportunities in conserving the wreck and recommend measures and guidance to secure its protection.
‘The remarkable story of the Endurance is universally known and the ship’s association with Shackleton gives it global significance,’ said Camilla Nichol, CEO of UKAHT. ‘Its story is one of the greatest feats of endeavour and survival ever told. Now the location is known, it is our responsibility to make sure that Endurance is protected.
I am delighted that we are able to announce this partnership with Historic England which brings together our shared expertise in Antarctic heritage and the protection of shipwrecks’ added Nichol. ‘Our aim is to ensure that future human activity serves only to benefit and protect Endurance and the stories associated with the ship continue to inspire and inform us in the future.’
‘We are excited to be partnering with UKAHT on this project,’ added Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England. ‘This is a unique opportunity to work on an internationally important shipwreck, which captured the attention of the world when it was discovered earlier this year deep in the Weddell Sea. We look forward to devising a plan to ensure its protection for future generations.;
A free online webinar was broadcast to mark the announcement, with Dr John Shears, expedition leader with Endurance22, and Historic England’s maritime archaeologist, Hefin Meara, joining UKAHT’s Camilla Nichol to discuss the project. A recording of the presentation will be made available on the UKAHT YouTube Channel.
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