The cruiser sank on her starboard side and lies in {{Convert|67|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep water.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 February 2017 |title=Verification of the Location and Condition of the Dutch Shipwrecks in the Java Sea |url=https://english.cultureelerfgoed.nl/binaries/cultureelerfgoed-en/documenten/publications/2017/01/01/report-of-the-dutch-shipwrecks-in-the-java-sea/Verification_of_the_location_and+_ondition_of_the_Dutch_Shipwrecks_in_the_Java_Sea.pdf |url-status=live |website=[[Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed]] ( Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands) |page=27}}</ref> Her wreck was discovered by an amateur diver in 2002. When an expedition in 2017 was only able to find an imprint left in the seabed, it was believed the wreck had been intentionally dismantled. The Dutch government investigated, offended at the mass disturbance of [[War grave|war graves]]. An investigation determined the wreck's disappearance was part of a trend where shallow World War II-era shipwrecks were blown apart and salvaged by groups posing as fishermen.The Dutch government investigated, offended at the mass disturbance of [[War grave|war graves]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Holmes |first=Oliver |last2= |first2= |date=2016-11-16 |title=Mystery as wrecks of three Dutch WWII ships vanish from Java seabed |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/16/three-dutch-second-world-war-shipwrecks-vanish-java-sea-indonesia |access-date=2025-04-13 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The vessel believed to be responsible, the Chinese [[Dredging|dredger]] ''Chuan Hong 68,'' was detained by Malaysian authorities in 2024 and accused of dismantling the wrecks for either [[low-background steel]] or [[Scrap|scrap metal]]. It was alleged that the scrapping was done regardless of the wreckssa nationality, with American, Dutch, Japanese, British, and and Australian wrecks affected.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grady |first=John |date=2023-05-25 |title=U.K. Royal Navy ‘Distressed and Concerned’ by Illegal Chinese Salvage of WWII Wrecks |url=https://news.usni.org/2023/05/25/u-k-royal-navy-distressed-and-concerned-by-illegal-chinese-salvage-of-wwii-wrecks |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=USNI News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Grady |first=John |date=2024-07-04 |title=Chinese Ship Suspected of Raiding World War II Wrecks Detained |url=https://news.usni.org/2024/07/04/chinese-ship-suspected-of-raiding-world-war-ii-wrecks-detained |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=USNI News |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2018, ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported the bones from ''Java'' and other warships were removed from their respective wrecks during scrapping in [[Indonesia]] and were dumped in several [[Mass grave|mass graves]] nearby. The Dutch and Indonesian governments collaborated in the investigation, [[Burial#Exhumation|exhumed]] suspected graves, and laid out plans to prevent further damage to the shipwrecks.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2021-07-21 |title=Investigation into disappeared WWII wrecks in Asia - Maritime Heritage - Cultural Heritage Agency |url=https://english.cultureelerfgoed.nl/topics/maritime-heritage/international-projects/indonesia/investigation-into-disappeared-wwii-wrecks-in-asia-continues |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240913003542/https://english.cultureelerfgoed.nl/topics/maritime-heritage/international-projects/indonesia/investigation-into-disappeared-wwii-wrecks-in-asia-continues |archive-date=13 September 2024 |access-date=2025-04-13 |website=english.cultureelerfgoed.nl |publisher=[[Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed]] ( Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands) |language=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Boffey |first=Daniel |date=2018-01-22 |title=Bodies of second world war sailors in Java sea 'dumped in mass grave' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/22/bodies-of-second-world-war-sailors-in-java-sea-dumped-in-mass-grave |access-date=2025-04-13 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lamb |first=Kate |date=2018-02-28 |title=Lost bones, a mass grave and war wrecks plundered off Indonesia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/28/bones-mass-grave-british-war-wrecks-java-indonesia |access-date=2025-04-13 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
