A Cornish museum is looking for help in a challenging task to transport a model of early 20th-century explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s famous ship from war-torn Ukraine to Cornwall.  

Last year, after a chance social media interaction, Charlestown’s Shipwreck Treasure Museum commissioned Vitaliy Vrubel to build a scale replica of Endurance. 

The ship was crushed in pack ice during Shackleton’s ill-fated bid to break new ground in Antarctica more than a century ago.  

Mr Vrubel, a retired rocket engineer who lives in the besieged city of Dnipro, crafted the model in the loft workshop of his flat over many months while living in fear of missile attacks as the conflict raged around them. 

The detailed scale model was completed recently just before Vitaliy and his wife, Tatiyana, fled Ukraine when fighting intensified in the Dnipro area.  

Booking a courier online isn’t an option in a war zone, so the museum is seeking help from anyone who might be able to assist in the task of bringing the intricate model from the Dnipro to Charlestown.  

Lynné Raubenheimer, visitor engagement manager at the Shipwreck Treasure Museum said: “We really don’t know how we are going to pull this off; however, it is fitting that it’s going to be a real challenge to get this model to Cornwall. Shackleton’s journey on Endurance was far from plain sailing and ultimately turned into an adventure of epic proportions.  

“We’d be hugely grateful to hear from anyone who might be able to help us complete our mission. We are really hoping we can complete this story and put Vitaliy’s model on display for our visitors to enjoy.”  

The museum is currently staging a special immersive exhibition in conjunction with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), telling the incredible story of human survival that resulted from Shackleton’s unsuccessful bid in 1914 to be the first to cross Antarctica.  

The museum can be contacted on 01726 69897 or by email at [email protected]