The reason why Abraham van der Hulst's ship in 1652 could be a previously unknown ship

There is a small chance that Abraham van der Hulst's 26-gun ship in 1652 could be a previously unknown ship is that figuring out what ship he commanded, by analysis, has not been possible. You would think that if he commanded a ship that we knew about and that we have accurate information about which captains commanded which ships, then we could find the ship by analysis. I think that the chances of the ship being an unknown ship (a "mystery ship") are small, but they are a real possibility. Another possibility is that the ship was one that had served in the 1630s and 1640s, was damaged in the storm in the Shetlands and was finally discarded. We just don't know of any plausible ships.