Early yesterday morning, the water police discovered a capsized Jeanneau Merry Fisher 895 in the Elbe near the marina at Elbstorf. As it was initially unclear whether there were still people on board, this triggered a large-scale operation. Emergency services from the entire district of Elbmarsch arrived, including boats from Hoopte, Drage and Marschacht as well as divers from the Hamburg fire brigade and the DLRG. Only the tip of the bow was still sticking out of the water when the helpers arrived at the scene.
Clarification by the boat owner
The search for possible missing persons was finally stopped after the owner of the boat was contacted. He was on holiday in Spain and was able to clarify that there was probably no one on board at the time of the incident. The owner assumed that his boat had been stolen. The police then began an investigation and established that the pleasure craft had probably been stolen from the harbour during the night.
Suspected theft of the outboard motors
The police suspect that the probable motive for the theft was an attempt to steal the boat's two 200 hp Yamaha outboard engines. It is still unclear why the perpetrators then sank the pleasure craft and is the subject of ongoing investigations. In similar cases in the past, severe damage to the transom due to improper "dismantling" led to the sinking. It cannot be ruled out whether this was similar in the present case. The incident is particularly annoying for the owner, as the engines of his boat had already been stolen two years ago. On that occasion, however, the pleasure craft remained unharmed after it was pulled into a small side arm on the opposite side of the Elbe.
Salvage by specialised company
Once the operation was complete, the rescue teams were able to leave, as the wreck initially posed no further danger. The salvage of the approximately nine-metre-long and 4.5-tonne sports boat is now being carried out by a specialist salvage company.
Safety aspects for boat owners
The incident emphasises the importance of safety measures for boat owners, especially when leaving their vessel unattended for long periods of time. In addition to robust Locks and chains also the use of GPS trackers or alarm systems to make theft more difficult or at least to detect it quickly. In addition, a Comprehensive insurance mitigate financial losses in the event of damage.
