A crew led by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society has found the long-sought wreck of the Quest, the final expedition ship that belonged to famed Irish explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.

John Geiger, leader of the Shackleton Quest Expedition, says sonar scans located the wreck on Sunday, sitting on its keel on the sea floor about 80 kilometres off the coast of Labrador, 390 metres from the surface.

He says Quest’s towering mast is broken beside the vessel’s remains, likely cracked off as it went down, but sonar images show the ship is otherwise in “incredible condition.”

Geiger says a crew will head out to capture images of the wreck using remotely operated vehicles.

Shackleton was on his way to explore parts of Antarctica when he died aboard the Quest in 1922, at age 47.

The Norwegian-built ship was then used for Arctic research and sealing before it was damaged by ice off Labrador and sank in 1962. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2024.