 In 1915, a Japanese company proposed that the ship be repaired and refloated, but an inspection by concluded that wave damage to "Emden" made such an operation unfeasible.By 1919, there were reports that the wreck had almost completely broken up and disappeared.Between the First and Second World Wars, groups of about 20 Cocos Malays were stationed on the island for up to a fortnight at a time to harvest timber, coconuts and birds to take back to Home Island.