First images of Quest shipwreck released

The Royal Canadian Geographic Society (RCGS) has released the first images of the wreck of the polar exploration vessel Quest. The ship sank in the South Atlantic in 1962 during an expedition that included Arctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.

The wreck was initially discovered in 2024. Shackleton died aboard the ship before its destination was reached, and the vessel subsequently disappeared for decades. Quest was originally a Norwegian whaling ship named Foca I, purchased and renamed by Shackleton. While intended for Arctic exploration, its route was later shifted to the Antarctic.

Shackleton is most famous for his ill-fated voyage on the Endurance, which became trapped in ice in 1914 and sank. Shackleton and his crew survived that ordeal. The Quest expedition marked his final voyage.

The images were published in Canadian Geographic magazine and provide the first visual glimpse of the wreck, which sank over 60 years ago.