The final ship of renowned Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Quest, has been captured in newly released images from its resting place on the floor of the Labrador Sea. The vessel, located approximately 1,280 feet deep off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, remains recognizable after decades submerged.
These images, released in July, show the Quest in moderate condition, according to Dwight Coleman, co-chief scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). "You could tell it was a ship," Coleman stated. "It had an obvious bow and stern, rudder and propeller. Even though it was sort of covered in fishing nets, you could still tell that some of that structure was preserved underneath the nets."
The wreck is now home to a variety of marine life, including pink corals, cod, red fish, and wolf fish, according to a statement from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) in partnership with WHOI. Fishing nets are draped across parts of the vessel, and some of its metal superstructure and portholes remain intact.
Shackleton, a celebrated Antarctic explorer, died aboard the Quest in 1922 at the age of 47. He suffered a heart attack while the ship was anchored in South Georgia during his final expedition. After Shackleton's death, the Quest was sold to Norwegian owners and spent decades sailing in Arctic waters. It sank in the Labrador Sea in 1962 after being crushed by ice floes.
John Geiger, CEO of the RCGS, described the discovery as a "moving experience." The expedition utilized WHOI's Falcon ROV to image the ship and create a digital twin, assisted by the submersible DSV Alvin, both made available through the National Science Foundation.
Coleman noted his surprise at the amount of fishing gear and marine life present on the wreck. "I wasn't expecting all the fishing gear, the nets and all the fish," he said. "I was honestly thinking it was a little bit deeper and in cold water, and that it would be pretty well-preserved and free of fishing gear because I didn't think there was that much fishing up there."
While metal structures remain relatively intact, the ship's wooden components are deteriorating. "A lot of the wood was collapsing and degrading. The wooden deck was basically completely gone," Coleman explained. "The metal structures of the ship were still pretty well intact, although deteriorating."
Researchers aim to preserve the wreck through detailed digital mapping rather than artifact recovery. "We understand most of the components that we could find on it, so you're not really learning anything about history by recovering the artifacts. … There really isn't much need to," Coleman said. He added that expeditions like this help the public gain a deeper appreciation for maritime history and the ocean, noting that shipwrecks now serve as artificial reefs supporting diverse biological communities.
This discovery follows recent attention on Shackleton's expedition ship Endurance. In October 2025, researchers proposed that structural flaws, in addition to ice, may have contributed to the Endurance's sinking.