<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jul/10/shackletons-wrecked-endurance-to-get-extra-protection>
"A protection ring around the
Endurance, one of the most famous shipwrecks of
all time, is to be widened from 500 metres to 1,500 metres in order to restrict
activities close to the vessel.
The move is part of an international plan to conserve the site, drawn up by the
UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) and Historic England, published on
Wednesday.
The plan says the
Endurance will be preserved in situ, all activity will be
undertaken with the aim of preserving and enhancing the site, and nothing will
be taken or deposited from the wreck and surrounding area.
The biodiversity, habitats and ecology of the wreck will be recorded and
preserved. When the
Endurance was found in 2022, it was discovered to be home
to sea anemones, sea lilies, starfish and sponges.
The wreck is “pretty well protected” already, 3,000 metres below the surface of
the remote Weddell Sea, said Camilla Nichol, the chief executive of the UKAHT.
“But now that its location is known, people will be more interested in going,
and climate change means the site will become more accessible.”
The
Endurance, thought lost for ever, was found in the icy waters of the
Antarctic in 2022. It had not been seen since it was crushed by ice and sank in
the Weddell Sea in November 1915. Footage showed the 44-metre ship to be
intact.
“We are overwhelmed by our good fortune in having located and captured images
of
Endurance,” Mensun Bound, the exploration director of the Endurance22
expedition, said at the time.
“This is by far the finest wooden shipwreck I have ever seen. It is upright,
well proud of the seabed, intact and in a brilliant state of preservation …
This is a milestone in polar history.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
