A landmark expedition organized by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has departed to examine the sunken vessels of two leading Antarctic explorers.

Quest, the schooner-rigged steamship once commanded by Sir Ernest Shackleton, and Terra Nova, Captain Robert Falcon Scott's whaling and expedition vessel, form the focus of this new underwater project.

Although the original voyages took place in the first half of the twentieth century, with the Terra Nova Expedition running from 1910 to 1913 and the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition from 1921 to 1922, both ships sank decades later.

Following its return from Scott's journey in 1913, Terra Nova was reacquired by earlier owners and resumed service as a whaling ship.

In 1942 the vessel was chartered by Newfoundland Base Contractors to transport supplies to outposts in Greenland.

Terra Nova and Quest sink years after their expeditions

On September 12, 1943, Terra Nova broadcast an urgent SOS reporting that its pumps had failed and water was flooding the hull.

Rescue vessels reached the scene the following day and saved the crew. The ship was then scuttled by gunfire.

The wreckage was first located off Greenland in 2012 during tests by the Schmidt Ocean Institute's R/V Falkor and later confirmed by maritime archaeologists aboard MY Legend.

Quest remained in service roughly twenty years longer than Terra Nova.

Shackleton died aboard the vessel in 1922 as the expedition prepared to enter Antarctic waters. Under the leadership of Frank Wild the team completed a limited survey of the Weddell Sea before returning home.

After refitting, Quest took part in the 1928 rescue of survivors from the Italia airship crash, served as a sealing vessel in the 1930s, and acted as a minesweeper for the British navy during World War II.

On May 5, 1962, ice pierced the hull during a sealing voyage and Quest sank off the coast of Labrador.

The wreck was located in 2024 at a depth of 390 meters in the Labrador Sea by RCGS expedition leader John Geiger.

First comprehensive survey of Quest and Terra Nova

The current mission will conduct the first full visual survey of both wrecks to produce detailed digital models for further research, the RCGS stated last week.

Researchers will employ high-definition 5.2K video cameras and Canadian VOYIS photogrammetric systems to record the vessels and nearby debris fields.

The research vessel Atlantis, operated by WHOI, will serve as the mothership for the human-occupied vehicle Alvin and a remotely operated vehicle.

Alvin was the first submersible to examine the wreckage of Titanic.

"The discovery of Quest in 2024 marked only the start," Geiger said. "On Canada Day we will set out on the largest expedition in the 96-year history of the RCGS."

"By combining Canadian and American technologies with an international team of specialists, we will document Quest and Terra Nova in unprecedented detail and share these historic stories with the world."

WHOI Director of Ocean Imaging Dwight Coleman, co-chief scientist on the mission, noted that advanced imaging tools will allow researchers to recreate two historically important shipwrecks and revive the stories of two great explorers.

"The courage and leadership shown by these polar pioneers have inspired generations of explorers," said shipwreck expert and co-chief scientist David Mearns. "Documenting their final vessels with the latest technology offers a once-in-a-generation chance to inspire future explorers worldwide."