The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust are proud to announce the Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for one of the most famous shipwrecks of all time – Shackleton’s Endurance – has been published and is available to view on the site, enduranceshipwreck.org. Led by UKAHT, in partnership with Historic England, the CMP acts as a shared vision and framework to inspire an international effort to protect and promote understanding of Endurance, for current and future generations.
The CMP was commissioned by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) following the discovery of the wreck of Endurance at the bottom of the Weddell Sea on 5 March 2022 by the Endurance22 expedition. After a comprehensive consultation with key stakeholders and a field of international experts, it was presented to the Committee for Environmental Protection at the 2024 Antarctic Treaty meeting. The CMP, presented by the UK, was co-sponsored by Chile, USA, New Zealand and South Africa and was welcomed by the Committee.
It is now available to the public as an ongoing resource. A key objective of the CMP is to ensure the preservation of the wreck in situ. Although the wreck is a designated historic monument (HSM) and its remote location in the Weddell Sea serves as a protective factor, with warming temperatures and sea ice loss, it could become increasingly vulnerable.
Risk factors identified in the CMP include unauthorized visits using new subsea technologies (ROVs, AUVs and submersibles), touri.