The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) has made a significant discovery in the depths of the Labrador Sea. In June 2024, an RCGS wreck hunting team located the Quest, one of the final vessels from the age of Antarctic exploration, 85 kilometres from Labrador’s east coast at a depth of 390 metres.
The polar exploration ship was largely intact except for a broken main mast. The Quest was a significant part of history, having sailed from 1917 until its sinking in 1962. Originally christened as the Foca I, its name was changed to Quest in 1921 by Sir Ernest Shackleton's wife, Emily.
The Norwegian-built ship was probably best known as the final resting place for Shackleton on the ill-fated Shackleton-Rowett Expedition to the Antarctic. Shackleton had originally intended to explore the Beaufort Sea region but was forced to head for the Antarctic instead due to a lack of financial support from the Canadian government.
The Quest had a rather subdued history after the death of Shackelton, being pressed into service as a shore ship and an expedition vessel. It was also used as a minesweeper and light cargo vessel during the Second World War and eventually returned to the sealing trade in 1946.
While on a seal-hunting expedition in May 1962, the Quest was busted open by sea ice and sank off the east coast of Labrador. The crew was saved, but the ship was sent to Davy Jones’s Locker, lying silent in the cold water until its discovery 32 years later.
