Series of thefts at Wieltsee: Perpetrators strike again

When a boat owner arrived at Wieltsee Marina on Thursday evening, his Beneteau Antares 11 was no longer at its mooring. When asked, the harbour master confirmed that he had not moved the boat. It appears that unknown individuals had stolen it.

Using an iPad on board, the owner managed to determine the location of his boat. At around 8 pm, Managing Director Stefan Kern and the harbour master of Marina Wieltsee set out in a boat to search for the missing vessel.

Boats were tracked down

When the harbour authorities reached the stolen boat, they found not only the missing boat from their marina, but another one as well. One was lying on a stone jetty, whilst the other was drifting aimlessly on the River Weser. The officials secured the boats at the scene. By this point, the perpetrators had already professionally removed the engines.

According to information from the marina, one of the cases involved two outboard engines, each with 300 PS and weighing around 450 kilograms. On the second boat, the perpetrators had unscrewed the motor’s underwater drive unit. The vessels have since been towed to a safe location. It was not possible to transfer them to the harbour immediately due to the darkness.

Another detail illustrates just how discreetly and professionally the perpetrators operate: just two berths away, another owner was asleep on board whilst the boat was being stolen from the marina. He was completely unaware of the theft. The perpetrators went about their business very meticulously, both whilst towing the boat away and whilst removing the engines. Apart from the missing engines, no damage could be detected on the boat from which the two outboard engines were stolen.

Marina feels as though she’s being spied on

Stefan Kern, Managing Director of Marina Wieltsee, suspects that the perpetrators have a very good knowledge of the area. In his view, they must be from the region or, at the very least, be very familiar with the extensive port area and the local conditions.

Furthermore, other incidents are causing concern. According to Kern, drones have been spotted repeatedly over the marina in recent times. It is not yet clear whether these sightings are linked to the thefts. However, there is a suspicion within the marina that the premises and the boats moored there may have been deliberately scouted out.

Forensic investigation on Friday morning

A patrol car from Achim arrived at Wieltsee on Thursday evening. According to the marina, the emergency services helped to secure one of the boats. The forensic team began their work the following Friday morning.

Following the previous incidents, the police had already stated that possible links were being investigated. Initially, there was no conclusive evidence to suggest that the offences were committed by the same perpetrators. Even in response to a further enquiry from YACHT online, no specific details were provided regarding the perpetrators or the progress of the investigation. Officials at Wieltsee, however, had already assumed at the time that the incidents were part of a linked series.

This latest incident is likely to further heighten the concerns of boat owners and harbour authorities. The weight of the stolen outboard motors and the fact that they were dismantled so cleanly suggest once again that this was a premeditated crime – and that the perpetrators know exactly how and where to go about it.

​A new case, a familiar approach

This latest theft is not an isolated incident, but the fourth such case at Wieltsee in the space of three months. As BOOTE online reported Back in August, unknown individuals had already removed four pleasure boats from their moorings, dismantled the engines on a neighbouring lake and then left the boats behind without their owners. In September, another motorboat sank after its hoses had been cut, its valves opened and its engine parts stolen. Shortly afterwards, two boats were stolen from the Wieltsee Marina, stripped of their outboard motors and left on the River Weser. In total, at least seven boats were affected at that time.

The current case bears clear similarities to this series of incidents. Once again, boats were taken out of the harbour, had their engines removed outside the marina and were then abandoned. With the addition of these two vessels, the total number has risen to at least nine.

What measures do you think are effective in preventing boat theft in a marina – and what has proved successful at your mooring?