Polar Ships

The ships of the Arctic and the Antarctic: the Erebus and the Terror of Franklin's lost expedition, Shackleton's Endurance, the Jeannette, the Karluk and the Belgica.

This chapter of Lost at Sea holds 24 ships. For each one we give what she was, when and where she was lost, why she is remembered and where she lies today. See all 646 ships on one page.

Marea can build any of these ships as she was on the day she sailed, with the maximum detail the records permit. Many of these wrecks are war graves or the resting place of those lost with them, and we build them with that in mind.

This database was put together by Ai Refloat™, Marea’s own artificial intelligence, from museums, heritage registers, archaeological reports, official inquiries, newspapers and encyclopaedias. Ai Refloat is still young & like any teenager, it can be a little volatile and unpredictable at times, but above all, it is learning fast. So this list may well contain mistakes and we welcome the input of everyone who knows these ships better than we do.

Have you spotted a mistake, or is a wreck missing? Tell us which ship and what to correct, and we will amend it accordingly. Tell us here

The ships

Polar Ships · Great Britain
HMS Erebus Ice
Abandoned 22 April 1848 · Wilmot and Crampton Bay, off King William Island, Nunavut, Canada
The ship Hecla class bomb vessel, Great Britain
Built Pembroke Dock, launched 7 June 1826
Size 105 ft long, 372 tons burthen, two mortars and 10 guns
Aboard About 130 men in Franklin's expedition
Lives lost All
After the Ross Antarctic expedition, Erebus was Sir John Franklin's flagship in the 1845 search for the Northwest Passage. Trapped in ice off King William Island, she and Terror were abandoned in April 1848 and every man died of cold, scurvy and starvation.
Why she is remembered Mount Erebus in Antarctica is named after her; the lost Franklin expedition became an enduring mystery, dramatised in the TV series The Terror (2018). SHIPS OF DISCOVERY overlap.
The wreck today Found on 2 September 2014 by Parks Canada; National Historic Site of Canada since 2019 and jointly owned with the Inuit since 2017. Deteriorating in shallow water.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: François Musin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · Great Britain
HMS Terror Ice
Abandoned 22 April 1848 · Terror Bay, King William Island, Nunavut, Canada, 21 to 24 m deep
The ship Vesuvius class bomb vessel, Great Britain
Built Robert Davy yard, Topsham, Devon, launched 29 June 1813
Size 102 ft long, 325 tons burthen, two mortars and 10 guns
Aboard Part of Franklin's 1845 expedition
Lives lost All
Terror shelled Fort McHenry in 1814, survived ice on Back's 1836 expedition and sailed on Ross's Antarctic expedition. With Erebus she was beset in ice and abandoned in 1848, and the whole Franklin expedition perished.
Why she is remembered Her bombardment of Fort McHenry inspired The Star Spangled Banner; Mount Terror is named after her; the TV series The Terror. SHIPS OF DISCOVERY overlap.
The wreck today Found on 3 September 2016 by the Arctic Research Foundation in Terror Bay, about 92 km from where she was abandoned, in excellent condition; National Historic Site of Canada, access restricted.
Sources differ The wreck lies about 92 km (57 mi) south of the reported abandonment site, which challenges the historical account of her fate.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: After George Back, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · United Kingdom
Breadalbane Ice
21 August 1853 · half a mile south of Beechey Island, Barrow Strait, Lancaster Sound, Nunavut, 74°41′N 91°50′W
The ship Three-masted merchant barque (Royal Navy supply ship in Franklin search), United Kingdom
Built Hedderwich and Rowan, River Clyde, Scotland, 1843
Size 428 tons; 38.1 m (125 ft) long, 7.3 m (24 ft) beam, 5.5 m (18 ft) depth of hold
Aboard 21
Lives lost none; the crew were rescued by HMS Phoenix
Called into Royal Navy service in 1853 to carry supplies for the search for Franklin, Breadalbane was moored to an ice floe when a slab of ice pierced her starboard bow. She sank within fifteen minutes; all 21 crew escaped to her companion HMS Phoenix.
Why she is remembered Considered one of the northernmost known shipwrecks and a time capsule of the Franklin search; designated a Canadian national historic site in 1983.
The wreck today Found in August 1980 by Joseph B. MacInnis's team using side-scan sonar, about 100 m (330 ft) deep, intact with two masts standing. Her wheel was recovered in 1983 and passed to Parks Canada.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Edward Augustus Inglefield, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · United Kingdom (Royal Navy)
HMS Investigator Ice
abandoned 3 June 1853 · Mercy Bay, Banks Island, Northwest Territories, about 150 m off the north shore
The ship Survey vessel (Arctic search ship), United Kingdom (Royal Navy)
Built Scotts, Greenock; acquired February 1848
Size 422 to 480 tons burthen
Lives lost none documented in source
Sent to search for Franklin, Investigator under Commander Robert McClure became trapped in the pack ice at Mercy Bay and remained frozen in for about three years before being formally abandoned on 3 June 1853. McClure gave the official account of the voyage and surgeon Alexander Armstrong published an unofficial one in 1857.
Why she is remembered A ship of the Franklin search and the Northwest Passage story; Inuit harvested metal from the abandoned ship for tools for decades.
The wreck today Found in July 2010 by Parks Canada about 150 m offshore at about 8 m depth, upright in silt with her masts removed by ice. No plans for recovery; documented by ROV.
Sources differ Tonnage given as 422 to 480 tons burthen; one cited source dates the abandonment to 1854 rather than 3 June 1853.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Samuel Gurney Cresswell, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · Germany (North German Confederation expedition)
Hansa Ice
22 October 1869 · about 70°32′N 21°W, roughly 10 km off the coast of East Greenland
The ship Schooner reinforced for ice (expedition escort ship), Germany (North German Confederation expedition)
Aboard 13
Lives lost none; all 13 survived
Escort ship of the Second German North Polar Expedition under Paul Hegemann, Hansa became separated from Germania and was trapped and slowly ground up by the pack ice until she sank. The crew built a hut of coal briquettes on the floe and drifted south through the winter, reaching a Moravian mission in 1870 and returning to Germany on 3 September 1870.
Why she is remembered A celebrated ice floe survival story of nineteenth century polar exploration.
Sources differ The separation from Germania on 19 July is attributed to Hegemann misreading a flag signal.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Polar Ships · United States
USS Polaris Ice
Also known as Periwinkle (tugboat)
October 1872 (deliberately grounded) · near Etah, Greenland
The ship Screw steamer converted to fore-topsail schooner (Arctic expedition ship), United States
Built converted at the Washington Navy Yard
Size 387 tons
Aboard about 25 officers, crew and scientists, plus Inuit companions and their families
Lives lost expedition leader Charles Francis Hall died aboard on 8 November 1871 (poisoning suspected); no deaths recorded among those on the ice floe or the ship's party in the loss itself
Hall's North Pole expedition ship was damaged and trapped in the ice. On 15 October 1872, during an attempted evacuation, 19 people including George Tyson were separated on an ice floe and drifted over 1,800 miles until rescue on 30 April 1873. The rest grounded the damaged ship near Etah and wintered there.
Why she is remembered The suspected poisoning of Hall and the six-month ice floe drift make the Polaris expedition one of the strangest stories of Arctic exploration.
The wreck today Beached and left heeled over half out of the water; salvaged for materials. No surviving wreck site recorded in the source.
Sources differ Accounts conflict on whether Budington's decision to ground the ship was justified, given differing reports of the propeller, rudder and fuel.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Polar Ships · Austria-Hungary
Admiral Tegetthoff Ice
abandoned 20 May 1874 · beset off south-east Franz Josef Land, Arctic Ocean
The ship Three-masted barquentine with steam engine (Arctic expedition ship), Austria-Hungary
Built Tecklenborg and Beurmann, Bremerhaven, built for the expedition
Size 38.34 m long; 220 tons; 100 hp steam engine
Aboard 24
The Austro-Hungarian North Pole expedition left Tromso on 13 July 1872 and in late August was locked in pack ice north of Novaya Zemlya. Drifting into unknown waters, the expedition discovered an archipelago on 30 August 1873 and named it Franz Josef Land. Still held fast by the ice, the ship was abandoned in May 1874.
Why she is remembered Her drift led to the discovery of Franz Josef Land; she featured on a 2005 Austrian commemorative coin.
The wreck today Fate after abandonment not documented in source.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Polar Ships · United Kingdom
Eira Ice
21 August 1881 · off Cape Flora, Franz Josef Land, Arctic Ocean
The ship Screw barquentine (ice-strengthened private expedition ship), United Kingdom
Built Stephen and Forbes, Peterhead
Size 39 m; 240 tons
Aboard 24
Lives lost none
Benjamin Leigh Smith's expedition ship was crushed by ice off Cape Flora. The crew saved supplies, wintered in a makeshift hut for ten months, set off in four boats on 21 June 1882 and were rescued by the ship Hope on 3 August 1882.
Why she is remembered Leigh Smith, sometimes called England's forgotten Arctic explorer, is the subject of P. J. Capelotti's book Shipwreck at Cape Flora (2013).
The wreck today Not definitively located; timbers sighted in 2015 and pottery and metalware found by a Russian team in 2017; an AUV search led by Milko Vuille was planned for August 2021.
Sources wreckwatchmag.com · tandfonline.com
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Polar Ships · United States
USS Jeannette Ice
Also known as HMS Pandora
13 June 1881 · Arctic Ocean, 77°15′N 155°0′E, about 300 nautical miles north of the Siberian coast
The ship Philomel-class gunvessel converted for Arctic exploration, United States
Built Pembroke Dockyard, 1860
Size 142 to 146 ft long, 24 to 25 ft beam; 570 tons displacement; 428 tons burthen
Aboard 33
Lives lost 20 (8 drowned when a boat capsized; 12, including Commander George W. De Long, died in the Lena Delta)
The Jeannette expedition sought the North Pole via the Bering Strait but the ship was trapped in the ice for 21 months and finally crushed and sunk. The crew hauled boats and supplies across the ice towards Siberia; one boat was lost in a storm and De Long's party died of cold and starvation in the Lena Delta.
Why she is remembered Wreckage found in Greenland in 1884 proved a transpolar ice drift and inspired Fridtjof Nansen's Fram expedition; told in Edward Ellsberg's Hell on Ice (1938).
The wreck today Not located as of December 2019, despite Russian attempts in 2015.
Sources differ Sources give length as 142 or 146 ft and beam as 24 or 25 ft.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: US gov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · Sweden
Antarctic Ice
Also known as Cap Nor
12 February 1903 · about 40 km (25 mi) off Paulet Island, Antarctica
The ship Three-masted barque with auxiliary steam engine (sealer, expedition ship), Sweden
Built Holmen, Drammen, Norway, 1871
Size 41.5 m (136 ft) long; 346 gross, 226 net tons; 45 hp auxiliary steam engine
Aboard Crew of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition under Captain Carl Anton Larsen; those rescued included Carl Skottsberg, Johan Gunnar Andersson, Jose Maria Sobral and Frank Wilbert Stokes
Lives lost none recorded in source; all crew were eventually rescued by the Argentine corvette Uruguay
Ship of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition under Captain Carl Anton Larsen, Antarctic was trapped in pack ice on 3 January 1903. She broke free on 3 February but was damaged and leaking, and sank before Larsen could beach her on Paulet Island. All the crew were eventually rescued by the Argentine corvette Uruguay.
Why she is remembered Part of one of the great Antarctic survival stories; geographical features in Greenland, Antarctica, Jan Mayen and South Georgia are named after her.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Otto Kjellström, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · Sweden; later British (Ferguson of Dundee)
Vega Other causes
1903 · Melville Bay, west of Greenland
The ship Barque with steam engine (whaler, expedition ship), Sweden; later British (Ferguson of Dundee)
Built Bremerhaven, Germany, 1872
Size 150 ft (45.72 m) long; 357 DWT
Rebuilt for Adolf Erik Nordenskiold's expedition, Vega left Karlskrona on 22 June 1878 and became the first ship to sail through the Northeast Passage and the first to circumnavigate Eurasia. Returned to whaling, she was reported sunk in Melville Bay in 1903.
Why she is remembered Her voyage ranks among the highest achievements of Swedish science; Cape Vega and Vegafonna are named after her.
The wreck today Not confirmed; a search was led by Ola Skinnarmo in 2013.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Jacob Hägg, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · United Kingdom; later Danish owners
Fox Other causes
1912 · coast of Greenland
The ship Auxiliary steam yacht (Franklin search ship), United Kingdom; later Danish owners
Built Alexander Hall and Sons, Aberdeen, 1854
Size 132 ft long, 24 ft 4 in beam; 320 tons burthen
Lady Franklin's private search ship under Francis Leopold McClintock. On 6 May 1859 Lieutenant Hobson found, in cairns on King William Island, the only written messages from the missing Franklin expedition ever found. Fox later surveyed for telegraph cables and ended her days with Danish owners, wrecked on the Greenland coast in 1912.
Why she is remembered The ship whose expedition solved part of the Franklin mystery.
Sources Wikipedia
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Polar Ships · Canada
Karluk Ice
holed 10 January 1914, sank 11 January 1914 · Arctic pack ice of the Chukchi Sea region, after drifting west from the Herschel Island area; survivors reached Wrangel Island
The ship Brigantine with auxiliary steam engine (former whaler, expedition ship), Canada
Built Matthew Turner's shipyard, Benicia, California, 1884
Size 129 ft (39 m) long, 23 ft (7.0 m) beam; 321 GRT, 247 NRT; 150 hp auxiliary compound steam engine
Aboard 25 (crew, expedition staff and Inuit hunters)
Lives lost 11 (four on Herald Island, four who set out independently, three on Wrangel Island)
Flagship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition, Karluk was trapped in the pack ice on 13 August 1913 and drifted west for months before being holed on 10 January 1914; she sank the next day. The survivors reached Wrangel Island and were rescued in September 1914.
Why she is remembered A harrowing Arctic survival story told in Bartlett's The Last Voyage of the Karluk (1916) and Jennifer Niven's The Ice Master (2001).
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · United Kingdom (originally Norway)
SS Southern Cross Storm
Also known as Pollux (1886 to 1897)
31 March 1914 · off the coast of Newfoundland; exact position uncertain
The ship Barque-rigged steam sealer (Antarctic expedition ship), United Kingdom (originally Norway)
Built designed by Colin Archer, built by Ole Martin Olsen, Arendal, Norway, launched September 1886
Size 146 ft (45 m) long; 520 GRT
Aboard 174
Lives lost all 174
Carsten Borchgrevink's Southern Cross Expedition ship broke through the pack into the Ross Sea in December 1898. From 1901 she joined the Newfoundland seal hunt and in 1914 vanished returning from the hunt; the inquiry found she sank in a blizzard.
Why she is remembered Part of the 1914 Newfoundland Sealing Disaster with the SS Newfoundland; her loss led to 1916 safety legislation for sealers and a folk song, Southern Cross.
The wreck today Never found; no survivors or records recovered.
Sources differ Inquiry blamed a blizzard; oral tradition says rotten planking gave way and the cargo shifted.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · United Kingdom
Endurance Ice
21 November 1915 (trapped in the ice from 18 January 1915; crew left the ship on 27 October 1915) · Weddell Sea, Antarctica; position per log 68°39′30″S 52°26′30″W; wreck found at 68°44′21″S 52°19′47″W
The ship Three-masted barquentine with auxiliary steam engine (polar expedition ship), United Kingdom
Built Framnaes shipyard, Sandefjord, Norway, launched 17 December 1912
Size 144 ft (44 m) long, 25 ft (7.6 m) beam, 350 GRT; 350 hp coal-fired steam engine, max 10.2 knots
Aboard 28
Lives lost none; all 28 survived and were rescued in 1916
Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition ship was beset in the Weddell Sea pack ice on 18 January 1915 and drifted with it for months. Ice pressure progressively crushed the hull, the crew left her on 27 October 1915, and on 21 November 1915 the wreck fell through the ice and sank. All 28 men survived and were rescued in 1916.
Why she is remembered One of the great survival stories of polar exploration, recorded in Frank Hurley's photographs and books such as Alfred Lansing's Endurance (1959).
The wreck today Found on 5 March 2022 by the Endurance22 expedition at 3,008 m, in a brilliant state of preservation with her name legible on the stern. Protected historic site under the Antarctic Treaty System; protection perimeter widened from 500 m to 1,500 m.
Sources differ Recorded loss position (68°39′30″S 52°26′30″W) differs from the actual wreck position (68°44′21″S 52°19′47″W).
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Frank Hurley, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · United Kingdom (originally Norway)
Scotia Fire
Also known as Hekla (1872 to 1902)
18 January 1916 · Bristol Channel, off Sully Island, Glamorgan, Wales
The ship Barque with auxiliary steam (sealer, Antarctic expedition ship), United Kingdom (originally Norway)
Built Jorgensen and Knudsen, Drammen, Norway, 1872; rebuilt by Ailsa Shipbuilding Company, 1902
Size 139 ft 6 in (42.5 m) long, 28 ft 9 in beam, 15 ft 6 in depth; 375 GRT
Aboard Crew; all survived
Lives lost none recorded
Bought by William Speirs Bruce in 1902 for the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition and strengthened against ice, Scotia sailed in November 1902, wintered frozen in at Laurie Island and returned in July 1904. She was later lost by fire in the Bristol Channel in 1916.
Why she is remembered The Scotia Sea and the Scotia Plate are named after her; she appears on Falkland Islands and British Antarctic Territory stamps.
The wreck today Burnt out off Sully Island; no salvage recorded.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Probably William Speirs Bruce himself, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · United Kingdom
SY Aurora Missing
1917 (posted missing by Lloyd's on 2 January 1918) · en route from Newcastle, New South Wales to Iquique, Chile; lifebelts recovered in the Tasman Sea
The ship Barque-rigged steam yacht (former sealer, polar expedition ship), United Kingdom
Built Alexander Stephen and Sons, Dundee, 1876
Size 165 ft long, 30.5 ft beam; 580 GRT
Lives lost unknown
Aurora served Mawson's and Shackleton's expeditions and in January 1917 rescued seven survivors of the Ross Sea party under Captain John King Davis. Sold, she sailed from Newcastle with coal for Chile in 1917 and vanished. She is believed to have been a war casualty, possibly sunk by a mine laid by the German raider Wolf.
Why she is remembered Shackleton's second Endurance expedition ship, remembered for the rescue of the Ross Sea party.
The wreck today Never found.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Frank Hurley, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · United Kingdom
Nimrod Storm
January 1919 · Barber Sands off Caister, Norfolk, North Sea
The ship Sealer, Antarctic expedition ship, later collier, United Kingdom
Built launched 1867
Aboard 12
Lives lost 10 (survivors: first mate James Truelsen and boatswain Russell Gregory)
Ernest Shackleton's ship for the 1907 to 1909 Nimrod Expedition towards the South Pole. Carrying 330 tons of coal from Blyth to Calais in a gale, she ran onto the Barber Sands and was holed below the waterline.
Why she is remembered The ship of Ernest Shackleton's 1907 to 1909 Nimrod Expedition, his first Antarctic expedition as leader.
Sources differ The Great Yarmouth Mercury calls her 54 years old in 1919, while Wikipedia gives a launch year of 1867.
Sources Wikipedia · greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk
No free image of this ship has been found yet.
Polar Ships · Norway; later Canada as Baymaud
Maud Ice
Also known as later renamed Baymaud (1925 to 1990)
1930 · Cambridge Bay, Victoria Island, Nunavut, Canada
The ship Oak-hulled polar exploration ship with semi-diesel engine, Norway; later Canada as Baymaud
Built Asker, Norway, launched June 1916 or 17 June 1917
Size 36.5 m long, 12.3 m beam, 4.85 m depth; 292 register tons; 240 hp semi-diesel
Built for Roald Amundsen, Maud completed the Northeast Passage between 1918 and 1924. Sold to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1925 as the supply ship Baymaud, she was frozen in at Cambridge Bay in 1926 and sank at her moorings in 1930, lying just offshore for decades.
Why she is remembered Amundsen's Northeast Passage ship and one of the few polar wrecks to have been raised and brought home.
The wreck today Raised on 31 July 2016 and returned to Norway via the Northwest Passage, arriving at Vollen on 18 August 2018 for a planned museum.
Sources differ Launch date given as June 1916 or 17 June 1917.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Anders Beer Wilse, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · Soviet Union
SS Chelyuskin Ice
Also known as Semion Chelyuskin (christened name per source)
13 February 1934 · near Kolyuchin Island, Chukchi Sea, 68.3014°N 172.8278°W, about 50 m deep
The ship Steamship reinforced for ice navigation, Soviet Union
Built Burmeister and Wain, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1933
Size 310.2 ft long, 54.3 ft beam; 7,500 tons; 2,400 hp, 12.5 knots
Aboard 111 at the start; 104 when she sank, including 10 women and 2 children
Lives lost 1 (B. G. Mogilevich, killed by deck cargo during the sinking)
Attempting the Northern Sea Route from Murmansk to Vladivostok, Chelyuskin was beset and crushed by the ice. The survivors built an airstrip on the ice; women and children were flown out on 5 March and the men in April 1934.
Why she is remembered Seven of the rescue pilots were the first people to receive the title Hero of the Soviet Union; the ordeal inspired a documentary, a poem by Marina Tsvetaeva and a 1970 East German TV film.
The wreck today Found in September 2006 at about 50 m in the Chukchi Sea.
Sources differ Source gives 111 aboard initially and 104 at the sinking after 8 were landed at Kolyuchin Island, figures that do not reconcile exactly.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Русский матрос, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · France
Pourquoi-Pas? IV Storm
16 September 1936 · Alftanes reefs, Myrar, west Iceland
The ship Three-masted polar and oceanographic research ship, France
Built Chantiers Francois Gautier, Saint-Malo, keel laid 1907, launched 1908
Size 40 m long, 9.2 m beam; 445 tons displacement
Aboard about 38 to 39 (34 crew and 4 to 5 scientists)
Lives lost all but one, including Commander Jean-Baptiste Charcot, aged 69
Returning from Greenland, Charcot's ship was caught in a violent cyclonic storm and driven onto the reefs off Iceland. The only survivor was the master helmsman Eugene Gonidec.
Why she is remembered Jean-Baptiste Charcot's famous polar ship, from 1912 the first training ship of the French Navy; the explorer died in her wreck.
Sources differ French Wikipedia gives 23 confirmed dead and 17 missing plus one survivor, which exceeds its own figure of 38 to 39 aboard.
Sources Wikipédia (FR)
Image: Semnoz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · Norway; Belgium 1896 to 1916; Norway 1916 to 1940
Belgica War
Also known as Patria (1884 to 1896); Isfjord (1916 to 1917)
1940 (out of service 19 May 1940, scuttled June 1940 per source) · Harstad, northern Norway
The ship Barque-rigged steamship (whaler, Antarctic research ship, later factory ship), Norway; Belgium 1896 to 1916; Norway 1916 to 1940
Built Christian Brinch Jorgensen, Svelvik, Norway, 1884
Size 35.97 m (118 ft) long, 7.62 m (25 ft) beam, 4.11 m draught; 263 GRT
Under Adrien de Gerlache, with Roald Amundsen aboard, Belgica became the first ship to winter in Antarctica in 1898 to 1899 during the Belgian Antarctic Expedition. Requisitioned by the British in April 1940, she was scuttled at Harstad when the Franco-British force evacuated, to prevent her capture.
Why she is remembered First ship to overwinter in Antarctica; her anchor is in the Polar Museum, Tromso, Belgica Rupes on Mercury is named after her, and a replica has been planned.
The wreck today Wreck located in 1990 at Harstad; plans exist to raise her for display at a Belgian maritime museum.
Sources differ Source gives both 19 May 1940 and June 1940 for her loss.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Frederick Cook, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · United Kingdom (expedition service)
Terra Nova Other causes
13 September 1943 · off south-west Greenland, 60°15′15″N 45°55′45″W
The ship Wooden-hulled barque with steam engine (whaler, sealer, Antarctic expedition ship), United Kingdom (expedition service)
Built Alexander Stephen and Sons, Dundee, 1884
Size 187 ft long, 31.4 ft beam, 19 ft draught; 764 GRT
Aboard All aboard were rescued
Lives lost none in the sinking
Terra Nova carried Captain Robert Falcon Scott's 1910 to 1913 British Antarctic Expedition; Scott and four companions reached the Pole on 17 January 1912, 34 days after Amundsen, and died on the return. Still working in 1943, she was damaged with water over the boilers and the pumps failing, and after her people were taken off she was sunk by gunfire.
Why she is remembered The ship of Scott's last expedition; her figurehead is at the National Museum of Wales and her bell at the Scott Polar Research Institute.
The wreck today Found in July 2012 by the Schmidt Ocean Institute's RV Falkor; visually surveyed in June 2025 by maritime archaeologists aboard MY Legend.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Herbert Ponting, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Polar Ships · United Kingdom during the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition; later Norway
Quest Ice
Also known as Foca I (1917 to 1921); HMS Quest (1940 to 1946)
5 May 1962 · Labrador Sea, about 85 km (53 mi) off the east coast of Labrador
The ship Sealer, expedition ship and wartime minesweeper, United Kingdom during the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition; later Norway
Built Erik Lindstols Batbyggeri, Risor, Norway, 1917
Size 111 ft long, 24 ft beam, 12 ft depth of hold; 209 GRT
Lives lost none; the crew was saved
Quest carried the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition, and Sir Ernest Shackleton died aboard her in harbour at South Georgia on 5 January 1922. After service as a sealer and in the Second World War, she was holed by ice and sank while sealing in 1962.
Why she is remembered The ship on which Shackleton died; his cabin is at the Athy Heritage Centre, Ireland, and her crow's nest is in All Hallows by the Tower, London.
The wreck today Found on 9 June 2024 by a team led by John Geiger (Royal Canadian Geographical Society) at 390 m, broadly intact apart from a broken main mast.
Sources Wikipedia
Image: Unidentified photographer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons