This quite a timely discovery for me - I'm just finishing reading the book "The Seven Seas" & the book covers the geography of the different oceans, covers the weather patterns, & very heavily covers merchant shipping starting back as early as 800 AD & up to current. I think the book was written back in the early 1950's. By the time of this shipwreck which was "modern days", trust me, the ship captains & crews knew well about navigation & what they were getting into. They routinely sailed to the North Pole, the South Pole, & everywhere in-between - it was lucrative business all over, & worth the risk. They were procuring seal skins, walrus tusks, whaling, spices, rum, etc. Every part of the world had their own specialties & a ship could bring back lucrative treasures. Countries funded & sponsored voyages, with a certain amount of the cut going to the rulers, kings & queens, etc. There were many famous ship's captains that were held in high esteem by their countries of origin. As far as sailing into cold climates, sometimes they would get socked-in by early ice, or they might get off-course & get trapped by the ice. They were generally prepared to hunker-down for a year or so & wait for the ice to melt & then they would continue. There was even a ship builder who designed a hull that would lift-up & ride above the ice, rather than stay down in the water & get crushed by closing ice. Lots of interesting stories. This particular ship (I did not read this article yet) may have been crushed by the ice & subsequently sunk with the crew long abandoned from it. I'll read the story later when I have more time.