Voyis is supporting the Heroic Age Expedition with subsea imaging technology as the team documents Quest, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s final expedition ship, and works to create a high-resolution digital twin of the wreck.
Led by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS), in partnership with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the expedition has captured the first close-up views of Quest since the wreck was discovered off the coast of Labrador in 2024.
Resting 390 meters below the surface of the Labrador Sea, the wreck has become a thriving deep-sea ecosystem more than six decades after sinking. It is covered in soft corals and anemones and surrounded by Atlantic cod, redfish, and the threatened spotted wolffish.
The first images also reveal abandoned fishing nets and other ghost gear draped across sections of the wreck, highlighting the long-lasting effects of lost fishing equipment on marine ecosystems and underwater cultural heritage.
As the expedition continues, the team is using the Voyis Discovery Stereo Inspection Series to create a high-resolution digital twin of Quest. Combining high-resolution stereo imagery with underwater photogrammetry, the system captures the data needed to reconstruct a detailed 3D model of the wreck and its surrounding debris field.
The digital twin will enable researchers to study, measure, and preserve the site long after the expedition concludes without disturbing the fragile wreck.
For Voyis, the expedition demonstrates how technology developed for precision subsea inspection and measurement can also support scientific discovery, marine conservation, and cultural preservation. The data collected during the expedition contribute to a deeper understanding of the wreck, its history, its current condition, and the ecosystem that has developed around it over the past 60 years.
Voyis is supporting the Heroic Age Expedition alongside the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the researchers, pilots, and explorers involved in the mission.
