Royal Navy News / Fighting arms / Surface Fleet
Chilean commander who rescued Shackleton’s crew remembered by sailors of HMS Protector
15 January 2025
HMS PROTECTOR hosted senior members from the British Embassy, Chilean Defence Attaché Office alongside Senior Officers from the Armada de Chile. The defence engagement serves as a useful opportunity to further important UK international relations.
Shortly after the event there was a plaque unveiling at the Piloto Pardo Monument. Piloto Luis Pardo was the Commanding Officer of the YELCHO, a steam-tug not rated for harsh ice conditions, that was tasked with the rescue of 22 members of the ENDURANCE. His ship was responsible for the rescue of 22 of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s men that were stranded on Elephant Island.
Sailing from Punta Arenas, Pardo was welcomed back as a hero and a monument in his honour was quickly erected on the waterfront plaza. HMS Protector is the Royal Navy’s only Ice Breaking Patrol Ship and is currently deployed in the Antarctic region promoting British Interests in the area and enforcing the Antarctic Treaty by working with partners including the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) and the governments of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.
The commander of the ship which rescued sailors from Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance has been recognised by the UK during icebreaker HMS Protector’s port stop in Chile.
The Chilean Navy pilot, Luis Pardo, carried out a heroic rescue of Shackleton’s men from the ill-fated Endurance, who had been trapped for many months on Elephant Island – their refuge following the loss of their ship in the pack ice of the Weddell Sea during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
Pardo and his crew on the cutter Yelcho took huge risks to save the British sailors.
A monument, featuring a statue of the officer and part of his vessel, stands to commemorate the courageous rescue on the waterfront of the southern port of Punta Arenas.
British Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean, Baroness Jenny Chapman, with the help of sailors from HMS Protector, and British Ambassador to Chile, Louise De Sousa, unveiled a new commemorative plaque to pay tribute to Pardo’s feats 108 years ago.
The Royal Navy’s icebreaker provided a fitting backdrop – alongside the city’s historic pier – as the ceremony took place, marking the return of the Yelcho from its successful mission with Shackleton’s crew on 3 September 1916.
Protector stopped in Punta Arenas for maintenance ahead of the second phase of her own Antarctic mission, having just completed scientific and survey operations in the region.
“It’s been excellent to speak with the navy here to remember a hero of Chile, Luis Pardo,” said Baroness Chapman. “In the UK, we’ve all heard of Ernest Shackleton, but not enough people know about what Luis Pardo did. He’s a real hero. What he did, many others would never have been so brave.”
The event was also attended by a range of representatives, including academics, scientists, diplomats, and regional governors – as well as defence and security members.
The guests also visited Protector herself, touring the ice breaker as an opportunity to further deepen the bonds between the UK and Chile.
After leaving Punta Arenas on 25 August 1916, Yelcho, under Pardo’s command, with Shackleton, Endurance’s captain Frank Worsley, and Tom Crean on board, passed through the channels on the west side of Tierra del Fuego, picking up coal at Picton Island before sailing through the Drake Passage.
Five days later, on 30 August 1916, Yelcho reached Elephant Island – an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean.
Thick fog shrouded the island, but by late morning, it had cleared, and Shackleton’s men were safely brought aboard the Yelcho, returning to Punta Arenas to an overwhelming reception.
