The Vrouw Maria sinking would not have been a particularly noteworthy event, just another Dutch merchant ship lost in the Baltic, except in this case the cargo was a lot of art by the Dutch Masters and owned by Catherine the Great. That made it not just a ship sinking, that made in a matter of international diplomacy and started a discussion about salvage rights that is still going to this day.
Ship Name: Vrouw Maria
Ship Type: Two Masted Wooden Snow
Ship Sank: 1771
Ship Sank: Baltic Sea, Finland
Sources:
Sources: http://www.vrouwmaria.com/A15_West.php
https://erenow.net/common/adventures-of-a-sea-hunter/8.php
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-hunt-for-catherine-the-greats-shipwreck-treasure
http://www.godutch.com/newspaper/index.php?id=1508
https://www.mutualart.com/Article/Moscow-lays-claim-to-18th-century-shipwr/A90EA09DF030B3E8
https://www.academia.edu/7427962/The_wreck_of_the_Vrouw_Maria_-_A_sunken_treasure_or_a_common_European_heritage
https://mass.cultureelerfgoed.nl/vrouw-maria
