Endurance (Survivor Timeline)

The Endurance was the research vessel, owned and captained by Conrad Roth. Roth's life was at sea, so the Endurance was like home to him. It was helmed by Angus Grimaldi.

The ship served Roth for many years, so much so that it was shown to be in poor working order, and the engine would break regularly, and needed constant maintenance.

History
Roth took the ship around the world several times, and used it extensively in his work, which he managed to get a lot of, due to being willing to "overlook" certain laws. It was because of this that Roth met several different people, including Richard Croft.

Roth met Joslin Reyes in a bar in New York, and after an altercation that left Roth unconscious, he offered her a job as mechanic.

Roth met Jonah Maiava, while docked in New Zealand, and was impressed by his massive strength and cooking ability, and offered him the position as cook aboard the ship.

Expedition to Yamatai
The ship was hired by James Whitman, a prominent TV archaeologist whose showing was facing cancellation, and being recently divorced, Whitman was broke. He was attempting to revitalize his career and his fortune, by producing a documentary uncovering the Lost Kingdom of Yamatai. However he was having difficulty funding the voyage, due to his shows cancellation. It was here that he met, Lara Croft, daughter of disgraced archaeologist, Richard Croft.

Alex Weiss joined the crew, whilst on the run, for discovering "certain things" he shouldn't have known.

Funding ended up being provided by an uncle of Samantha Nishimura, who expected a 60% cut of all findings from the expedition. Sam also insisted in joining the crew, to serve as the Director for Whitman's documentary.

Lara brings a theory about how Yamatai could be located in the Dragon's Triangle, which Whitman dismisses, and is not willing to risk his reputation on a hunch. Alex tells them how dangerous it is, by showing Satellite imagery of storm activity though he seems excited by the prospect of going in. Roth sides with Lara, as they don't have time or money to waste, and decides that Lara's plan is better than doing nothing. The ship heads towards the Dragon's Triangle.

On the 22nd day of the voyage, the Ship is hit by a massive storm, which was severe enough to split the ship in half. While attempting to evacuate, the crew were split up, and washed ashore on the island of Yamatai.

Lara's theory of the kingdom being hidden in the Devil's Triangle being correct. It was later revealed that the storm was caused by the trapped and vengeful soul of Himiko, who trapped anyone who dared get close to her island.

The remains of the Endurance end up amidst a graveyard of ship and plane debris called Shipwreck Beach, after being towed in by the Solarii Brotherhood, who salvaged it for materials.

Further Destruction


Alex ventured to the Endurance in order to recover Reyes' repair kit, which Reyes needs to repair PT Boat, whilst there, he is trapped under a piece of debris and unable to move. Lara then made her way to there, and found Alex trapped, she tried to pry the debris from Alex's leg, but the Solarii Brotherhood attack them, and the ship beginning to explode Alex orders her to leave, in order to save the rest of the group. Lara unwillingly agrees, and escapes the room while Alex provides cover fire. Alex, then he shoots a gas line, a massive chain reaction causes the engines and most of that section to explode; causing the stern to flood and sink in a matter of seconds after Lara escapes.

Return to Yamatai
Lara returns to Yamatai in the comics, and sees the wreckage of the Endurance once more. Seeing it saddens her, and reminds her of Alex sacrificing himself to save her. She is later forced into the water near the wreckage, where she encounters an apparition of Alex.

Trivia

 * Karl Stewart revealed in an interview that Ernest Shackleton's Endurance (1912) served as inspiration for the game's Endurance.
 * It was confirmed in the comic series, that the ship was named after Shackleton's ship, which Lara reflected on being a bad idea in hindsight, to name it after a doomed ship.
 * The ship has many features that resemble present-day research vessels that assist in everything from private operations to oceanic and scientific expeditions worldwide.
 * During the game, two Solarii members mention that the new wreck is, in fact, a research vessel, which surprises the other scavenger, hinting that they may not have seen such an advanced ship until then.
 * If Lara listens to their conversations throughout the game, Solarii members talk about the ship (the new "wreck") and the crew on multiple occasions.
 * The Endurance also has the city of "Plymouth" printed under its name, indicating where it is registered.
 * Although it is a large vessel, it is unusual for a research ship as large as Endurance to have a small number of crew members especially in a long voyage.