Underwater robotics, from defence and security company Saab, have been used to capture the first images of the Endurance shipwreck in Antarctica.
An expedition team has located explorer Sir Henry Shackleton’s ship at a depth of 3,008m under the Antarctic ice, using Sabertooth underwater vehicle to film and document the rediscovery of Endurance, which sank in 1915.
The polar research vessel S.A. Agulhas II set off on its voyage to Antarctica to search for Endurance on 05 February, 2022.
Researchers had two Sabertooth underwater robots on board and enabled the expedition team to successfully complete the task of locating, examining and filming the wreck.
Sabertooth, the lightweight inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) platform, was designed initially for offshore survey work and autonomous IMR of subsea installations and tunnels.
Nico Vincent, subsea project manager, Endurance22 project, said: “This has been the most complex subsea project ever undertaken, with several world records achieved to ensure the safe detection of Endurance.
“State of the art subsea technologies have been deployed to achieve this successful outcome and I would particularly like to thank the subsea team for all of the engineering support, both on board the ship and throughout the months of planning, design and testing.”
Additionally, two underwater search experts from Saab formed part of the expedition team.
“Locating the Endurance wreck in challenging Antarctic conditions at a depth of around 3,000 metres is not an easy task. We are very proud that Saab’s advanced underwater vehicle Sabertooth succeeded in completing this mission, making a great contribution to world history,” said Peter Erkers, sales director at Saab’s business unit Underwater Systems.
Since Shackleton’s ship sank after being crushed by ice in 1915, several expeditions have tried and failed to locate the wreck. The graphical data collected by Saab’s Sabertooth will allow the expedition team to gather detailed historical data and produce a precise 3D model of the wreck.
