I was digging around and saw that there used to be a similar issue in the earlier versions of the game. Back then the problem was that the monsters destroyed the shipwreck. In the changelog I can also see the following entry for version 0.9.0:
Suggestions in forums and the wider internet (mostly from 2014) were to try and not get the shipwreck destroyed by biters or turrets. But in my case, even if I restart the level and run into the area right in the beginning, very carefully, there is no shipwreck to be seen (other shipwrecks in the north are present even in the beginning).- Biters can no longer destroy the shipwreck in the 3rd new hope campaign (it is indestructible).
I also tried adding the computer to my inventory via command line, but that doesn't advance the story and I can't do anything with it.
I suppose this was the end of this campaign anyway, so I can just start New Hope and not miss much.
I only have the files from the Steam remote folder to offer, unfortunately I can't find any logs that would be more detailed.