A world-first study reveals the famed polar explorer was aware of worrying structural shortcomings in the ill-fated ship – Endurance was not designed for compressive ice conditions – yet it set sail anyway.

Sir Ernest Shackleton ’s ship, Endurance, was crushed by Antarctic sea ice and sank in November 1915. Emblematic of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration, it is widely considered the strongest polar ship of its time, albeit with a fatal flaw — a weakness in the rudder that caused the ship to sink.

Now, a world-first study incorporating both technical analysis and research into diaries and correspondence sheds new light on the expedition and the man himself. Not only did the ship have structural weaknesses that made it notably less robust than other early polar vessels but also, rem

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