On July 5, 1857, the Van Bosse departed from Shanghai for Singapore with a cargo of tea. Heavy storms and driving rain blew the ship off course. Captain Willem Hageman, unable to make observations for two days, lost track of his position. During the night of July 17–18, 1857, the ship struck a reef near Tarama Island, a few hundred miles east of Taiwan. The ship could not be refloated.
The ship listed and disappeared beneath the waves. The twenty-seven crew members, including the captain's wife, managed to reach the island in two sloops. There they were taken in by the local population. After eight days on Tarama, the castaways were taken to Miyako Island and from there to Okinawa. On November 9, they were picked up there by the Dutch ship Jan Daniel, which brought them safely to Batavia.

Tradition
The story of the shipwreck is documented in the Tarama island archives. Original families have also passed down stories about the shipwreck from generation to generation. José Schreurs, on behalf of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE), was involved in an oral history project on the island. This gives us wonderful insight into the significance of this wreck for the local community and how it continues to contribute to the island's history and daily life.

In this light, the Van Bosse shipwreck can be seen as a window into this period and the perceptions of the people at that time. A few years ago, the location and a story about a Dutch ship that sank off the coast were known in Tarama and even beyond. However, no one yet knew which ship.

Japanese-Dutch archaeological research
Nearly 160 years after the shipwreck, a project led by maritime archaeologist Martijn Manders of the RCE (Royal Netherlands Institute of Maritime Archaeology) was launched with a Japanese diving team. This research was part of a project for joint maritime heritage. The goal was to determine where and what remains of the wreck. Remains of the wreck were not (or no longer) found. However, a large iron chest, a great deal of porcelain, and a fragment of a Dutch jug were found.

Manders: "As archaeologists, our focus traditionally focuses primarily on tangible heritage, in this case the ship and the items on board. But in recent years, we've realized that archaeological sites aren't just about the stories of professionals. These sites also play a role in contemporary society. It's worthwhile to consider this as well; oral history complements archaeological and historical sources."

Comic Book
In 2019, Schreurs went to Tarama to investigate whether enough stories were still alive and what the Dutch and locals could do for each other. When she asked the municipality and the local education council what they wanted to gain from the project, the answer was: a picture book to retell the story. "Japan is more of a country of comics and cartoons than the Netherlands; a picture book is a normal medium there for passing on knowledge."
In 2023, the comic book about the Van Bosse shipwreck was published: The Mystery of the Dutch Reef.

Language
Moreover, she adds, on Tarama, which was once part of the Ryukyu Kingdom and was annexed by Japan in 1879, they speak their own, now endangered, language. "That's why we're collaborating with a linguist, Professor Kayoko Shimoji of Okinawa International University, who is documenting the language before it disappears completely."

The authorities have protected the area as the Village Historic Site (オランダ船遭難の地) Oranda-sen Sonan no Chi.

Nederlandsche Handelsmaatschappij (NHM)
In 1824, the Dutch government established the Nederlandsche Handelsmaatschappij (NHM) to further and better develop trade with the Dutch overseas colonies, primarily the Indies, and possibly also to rebuild the greatness of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Many ships were chartered to trade for the trading company, both from the Netherlands and from other countries. Japan had been in self-imposed isolation until 1854, when the American Navy forced the opening of this market, and the Netherlands lost its centuries-long monopoly on trade with Japan.
Okinawa and the Ryukyu archipelago remained an independent kingdom of Ryukyu until 1879, when it was incorporated into Japan.

The Van Bosse was a three-masted bark built at the Johan Carl Tecklenborg yard in Bremerhaven.

Objects have been found, like an anchor, a bottle of gin, a huge chest and shards of major Chinese jars that may also have been on board the ship. All dating to the 19^th century. The wreck itself is not detected yet.

• marhisdata.nl.
  VAN BOSSE - ID 14809.
• Akemi Kaneda.
  als 多良間島沖で難破したオランダ商船ファン・ボッセ号の歴史的考証.
• RCE.
  Kinderboek over schipbreuk Van Bosse en bemanning op Tarama.
• RCE.
  Vertaling (NL) verslag van de schipbreukVan Bosse.
• RCE.
  Achtergrond schipbreuk Van Bosse.