Shortly after the battle, the auxiliary cruiser visited the wreck to recover the signal logs from "Emden". In 1915, a Japanese company proposed that the ship be repaired and refloated, but an inspection by concluded that surf damage to "Emden" made such an operation unfeasible. By 1919, there were reports that the wreck had disappeared. The wreck was eventually broken up "in situ" in the early 1950s by a Japanese salvage company; parts of the ship remain scattered around the area.