The ship central to Tom Crean’s story of bravery and resilience has been located in the Antarctic 107 years after it sank - hailing the find as a milestone in polar history.

SEARCHING: The Agulhas II docked in the sea ice of Weddell Sea searching for Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship The Endurance and scientific research on the sea ice. Photo: Esther Horvath Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust/National Geographic

TEAM: John Shears Expedition Leader Mensun Bound Director of Exploration Nico Vincent Expedition Sub-Sea Manager J.C. Caillens Off-Shore Manager with the first scan of the wreck and photos from Frank Hurley's 1915 collection. Photo: Esther Horvath Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust/National Geographic

The Endurance sank in 1915 while explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew were attempting to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic.

The Endurance become stuck in ice as the 28-man crew made their way towards Vahsel Bay – the starting point of their land expedition. It sank in October 1915 forcing Shackleton and his six-man crew, which included Annascaul’s Tom Crean on to lifeboats. They ended up on uninhabited Elephant Island where after months of living in makeshift camps Shackleton decided to steer one of the lifeboats towards the whaling station at South Georgia 1,300km away.

Crean was included in the lifeboat crew that made the journey – one that is listed amongst the greatest feats of human endurance ever.

On arrival at the northern coast of South Georgia three of the crew, including Crean and Shackleton faced a 46km hike over uncharted territory to the whaling station at Stromness where the crew were able to organise a rescue party for the remaining men stranded on Elephant Island.

Some eight weeks after the lifeboat left Elephant Island the crew returned and rescued everyone without the loss of life.

The ship had not been seen since it went down in the Weddell Sea in 1915, and in February the Endurance22 Expedition left Cape Town, South Africa, on a mission to find it.

"The wreck is coherent, in an astonishing state of preservation. The Antarctic seabed does not have any wood eating micro-organisms, the water has the clarity of distilled water. We were able to film the wreck in super high definition. The results are magical,” Historian and broadcaster, Dan Snow, tweeted.