A total of 531 outboard motors were stolen nationwide in 2023, which is ten per cent fewer than in the previous year and a historic low. In the past, just under 1,500 outboard motors were stolen in Germany every year. State Secretary of the Interior Thomas Blenke expressed his satisfaction at the presentation of the annual statistics of the Baden-Württemberg Water Police's Competence Centre for Boat Crime on Friday, 17 May 2024, in Constance:
Sport boats and outboard motors are popular stolen goods. In Baden-Württemberg, we are tackling this vehemently with structured searches, international cooperation, offensive investigations and prevention measures. And with success"
There was a slight increase in recreational craft compared to the previous year, from 140 to 160. Nevertheless, this is the second-lowest figure since the evaluation began, after 2022. In the past, just under 500 pleasure craft were stolen in Germany every year. The total amount of damage to recreational craft and outboard motors in Germany last year totalled around 5.05 million euros (2022: 5.1 million euros).
Millions in stolen goods seized
Investigators have not only recorded a reduction in the number of thefts. In many cases, they have also been able to return the owners' belongings to them. The Competence Centre for Boat Crime in Constance has been coordinating searches for stolen recreational boats, outboard motors and recreational boat trailers throughout Germany for 23 years. In 2023, the team of investigators recovered property totalling around 4.6 million euros across Europe. Together with the local police departments, the investigators in Constance seized 28 pleasure craft, 67 outboard motors, three jet skis and two boat trailers. This is the second-highest amount ever seized within a year. The majority of the seizures were made in Eastern Europe. Every year, the team of investigators processes 4,000 enquiries from all over Europe and has already recovered 347 pleasure craft and almost 2,000 outboard motors since it was set up.
Success thanks to international cooperation
Across Europe, the number of stolen boats and outboards has been falling for years. While around 10,000 boats and 60,000 outboard motors were stolen in Europe in 2001, this figure has since fallen to 4,000 boats and 25,000 outboard motors. In addition, almost all thefts of outboard motors in the area of responsibility of the Boating Crime Competence Centre have been solved since 2015. The investigators attribute this success above all to good international cooperation.
With the EU Commission's "Empact" security initiative (European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats), the Baden-Württemberg State Office of Criminal Investigation coordinates the international operations of the Boat Crime Competence Centre. The officers from Constance are requested by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, for example, to assist in the dismantling of organised criminal networks. State Secretary Thomas Blenke emphasised:
We can only fight internationally active groups together, hand in hand with our international partners. And we are doing this with great success"
Multinational search operations
The Competence Centre for Boat Crime in Constance has an international network, enabling it to carry out targeted searches and checks in real time. Last year, for example, they were able to seize a motor yacht worth 2.5 million euros in Bergen, Norway, which had recently been stolen in Denmark
In October, two investigators from the Competence Centre led a successful operation on the Danube, on the Black Sea and on the EU's external border with Serbia to track down stolen outboard motors. The multinational team of police officers from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Romania seized, among other things, two so-called ribs with outboard motors totalling almost 130,000 euros. The operation was part of a major manhunt that took place simultaneously in 25 countries.
Among other things, 16 pleasure craft, 32 outboard motors, 505 stolen motor vehicles, 1,978 car parts and 248 forged documents were seized during the overall operation. Offenders from ten different countries were identified. The crime scenes were located in eight different countries and the seizures took place in ten other countries. This shows the international dimension of the criminal phenomenon.
