When a boat owner from Bremen arrived at his mooring at around 10 am on Thursday morning, he could hardly believe his eyes: instead of his boat, he found only cut ropes. His boat, the “Mücke”, a Banta 545 Sundeck, had vanished without a trace. As recently as 5 pm the previous evening, a witness had seen the boat still moored at the jetty. The perpetrators must have struck during the night – and took not only the boat, but also the brand-new cover, fishing tackle and the owner’s personal documents. The Bremen Water Police are investigating.
A boat with a short history under its new owner
The owner had only bought the Banta 545 Sundeck on 19 May – for 22,000 euros, including the trailer. The Polish motorboat was just five years old and had only 180 operating hours on the clock. “We had a boat before, too, but a bigger one,” the owner explains. “We actually wanted to upgrade to a bigger one, but as we both work, we thought: that would take up too much time. So we’ll go for something smaller, something modern.”
The “Mücke” had been in the water since 2 June. The owners had taken it out twice. “We were actually planning to set off today,” says the owner the day after the theft was discovered. “I was also planning to spend my first night on it yesterday, but that didn’t happen.”
Technical specifications of the stolen Banta 545 Sundeck:
| Type | Banta 545 Sundeck |
| Length | 5.45 m |
| Width | 2.38 m |
| Age | 5 years |
| Engine | Yamaha outboard motor, 71 PS |
| Operating hours | 180 hours |
| Boat name | "Mosquito" |
The thieves took everything
The thieves went to great lengths: they cut through the mooring lines and made off with all the equipment. On board were a new tarpaulin worth 1,200 euros, fishing tackle, two new anchors, new lines and the tender. What made it particularly unpleasant was that the owner’s boat licence and fishing licence were also on board – bearing his home address.
"That’s obviously a very unpleasant feeling," says the owner. It is unclear how the perpetrators got the boat moving. The owner had both the ignition key and the key for the main battery switch with him. “It was probably either hot-wired or towed by another boat,” he suspects.
Water Police analyse CCTV footage
The Bremen Water Police have launched an investigation and have written to all the locks in the region asking them to review their CCTV footage. The Hemelingen marina is situated on the River Weser – from there, boats can travel downstream towards Bremerhaven or upstream towards Verden.
However, the route towards Bremerhaven seems unlikely: the recreational boat lock is closed until the end of July; only the commercial shipping lock is open at certain times. On the route towards Verden, the first lock is in Langwedel. The owner hopes that the CCTV footage will provide some clues.
Series of thefts at boat harbours in Bremen
This incident is one of a series of boat and engine thefts in Bremen. “Engines have been stolen quite often in Hemelingen,” reports the owner. “At the marina next door, an engine was stolen on Sunday – from a boat that was on its trailer.”
The owner suspects that the thieves originally only intended to steal the engine. “The water isn’t deep there – it’s about 1.30 to 1.40 metres in the harbour. I reckon they tried to remove the engine on the spot, but couldn’t manage it that easily – so they took the whole boat with them.”
The season’s over; the insurance won’t kick in until later, I suppose
The owner has insured the boat, but the insurance company will probably only pay out once the police investigation has been concluded. “That means once the police have closed the investigation, if they can’t find it any more,” he explains. The bitter conclusion: “I think this season is over for us.”
The owner scours eBay Classifieds and other platforms every day to see if his boat is being offered for sale. Thanks to a report on eBay Classifieds, he at least learnt that someone else had been at the harbour on Wednesday at 9 pm, but hadn’t noticed anything out of the ordinary. “The theft must have taken place during the night,” he says.
Water Police: Outboard motor theft is a seasonal business
A spokesperson for the Bremen Water Police has confirmed that thefts of outboard motors and boats are a “seasonal business”. The number of offences rises particularly between May and autumn, when many boats are in the water. Many water sports clubs have already taken action by installing CCTV systems or employing security staff. “For us, in particular, when it comes to gathering evidence for legal proceedings, it is crucial to obtain evidence in the form of video recordings or witness statements,” said the spokesperson. The Water Police are carrying out targeted operations in areas where offences are concentrated and are working closely with water sports clubs to analyse vulnerabilities and develop preventive measures.
Lars Guschke of the Bremen Water Police is available as a contact and adviser for recreational boating clubs in Bremen; he can be reached on 0421-362-9833. Guschke works within the so-called KoPP model (community police officer) and provides clubs with targeted advice on preventive measures such as outboard motor coding and harbour security.
Information for the Bremen Water Police
The Bremen Water Police are accepting reports of sightings of the stolen Banta 545 Sundeck “Mücke” on 0471-596-98504 – this number is available round the clock, 24/7.
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