#ShackletonShips – Sir Ernest Shackleton who led the Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914-1918 is remembered and honoured in different forms, writes Jehan Ashmore.
Notably, three vessels of which two are named after the Irish-born explorer and the other is named after the ice-trapped exhibition ship, Endurance. The incident of course would result in the remarkable polar rescue mission as previously reported of the compelling exhibition currently on display in Dun Laoghaire.
The present day HMS Endurance (A171) is awaiting a decision on her future as she lies in her home port of Portsmouth, following a near-floundering off Chile in 2008. She had been employed as a hydrographic and support vessel for British Antarctic Survey (BAS), which is responsible for the UK's national scientific activities in Antarctica.
Her successor, RRS Ernest Shackleton, which is primarily a logistic ship is used to re-supply survey stations with occasional science and specialist tasking. Hear and see her ice-strengthened hull crunch through sea-ice with this VIDEO CLIP.
RRS James Clark Ross is her fleetmate and she has some of Britain's most advanced facilities for oceanographic research and is the platform for most marine science undertaken.
During September/October, of each year both vessels registered in Stanley, Falklands Islands, sail from the UK and return the following May/June.
The second 'Shackleton' as previously reported is a Dublin Port Company tug which was named in 2010.
For further information on the Shackleton Endurance Exhibition: 'Triumph Against All Odds' which features stunning photographs taken by expedition team-member Frank Hurley and much more in the Dun Laoghaire Ferry Terminal, visit www.shackletonexhibition.com