Hunt for Shackleton's lost ship is abandoned after underwater craft is trapped in a sheet of ice as it searched for the Endurance in the Antarctic

[Mark-x]

The search for Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's lost Endurance ship has been called off, after extreme weather trapped an underwater vehicle in a sheet of ice.

Severe weather closed in and the sea ice conditions in the Antarctic led to the loss of the AUV7, a specialist submersible autonomous underwater vehicle, which was deployed to locate the wreck using HD still colour cameras.

The Weddell Sea Expedition team was on the final leg of the mission when the vehicle entered underneath a vast sheet of floating ice to take images of the legendary ship but contact was lost with the Expedition research vessel, the S.A. Agulhas II.

 The Weddell Sea Expedition team was on the final leg of the mission when the vehicle entered underneath a vast sheet of floating ice to take images of the legendary ship but contact was lost with the Expedition research vessel, the S.A. Agulhas II (pictured)

The AUV7 had conducted what is believed to be the longest and deepest dedicated under ice survey ever, lasting over 30 hours.

Dr John Shears, polar geographer and expedition leader, said: 'The Weddell Sea Expedition team are truly disappointed that after such a huge effort, and overcoming several major setbacks, we have not been able to find Endurance.

Sir Ernest Shackleton pictured in 1922, seven years after he lost 'The Endurance'    
Sir Ernest Shackleton pictured in 1922, seven years after he lost 'The Endurance'

'We are, however, very proud of our other achievements over the past weeks in Antarctica.

'We have greatly surpassed our primary Expedition objective of undertaking pioneering scientific research at the Larsen C Ice Shelf.

'We have also conducted an unprecedented educational outreach programme, allowing children from around the world to engage in real time with the expedition and our adventures from the outset.

'We will shortly begin our return leg to Cape Town, after an expedition which has been my great privilege and honour to lead.

'The Expedition team, and the officers and crew of the S.A. Agulhas II, have been simply outstanding.

'I would also like to thank The Flotilla Foundation, and all of our partners who have all played a key role in supporting this incredible expedition.'

Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, was crushed by ice and sank in 1915.

The search for Endurance was part of a ground-breaking scientific research programme in the waters around the Larsen C Ice Shelf and the A-68 Iceberg in Antarctica.

The international team of glaciologists, marine biologists and oceanographers involved in the Expedition have surveyed the seafloor and the rich and little-studied biological systems that lie beneath the ice infested sea.