A sailing boat is parked in a public space for weeks without a licence plate. The public order office has it towed away. Shortly afterwards, it ends up not in a storage yard, not in an auction, but in the scrap press. This case has caused a lot of misunderstanding. Now the city explains why it acted in this way.
The case made waves among water sports enthusiasts, including at YACHT-FacebookThe boat was parked on a trailer in Dortmund-Hörde. According to the owner, the trailer's licence plates were stolen at the end of February. The trailer then remained in a public space for several weeks without licence plates. The owner does not deny that this was an offence and that the authorities could have intervened.
What he doesn't understand: The boat was apparently scrapped on the same day after it was removed. He later found only the red remains and small parts of his boat in a container at the waste disposal company, as he told the Ruhr News and other media reported. For him, it was not just a financial loss. According to him, the boat and trailer were worth around 4,000 euros and already had a booked berth on Lake Phoenix.
Why Dortmund categorised the boat as "waste"
The city of Dortmund has now justified its action with several factors. The trailer had been parked in a public space for weeks without a licence plate. An owner could not be identified. Furthermore, according to the city, the overall condition gave the impression that the property had possibly been abandoned.
On this basis, the trailer was categorised as "waste" within the meaning of the Closed Substance Cycle Waste Management Act. From the authority's point of view, it was no longer a vehicle to be stored normally or a lost property, but an object whose disposal could be ordered.
This remains difficult for the owner to understand. According to him, the boat was not scrap, but a ready-to-use sailing boat that was to be used again in the spring.
Why there was no auction
The city of Dortmund regularly auctions off lost property, including bicycles, e-scooters, tools and smartphones. So why not sell the boat?
According to the argument, the costs could have exceeded the expected value. Among other things, towing costs, storage on a secure site, an expert opinion and administrative expenses had to be taken into account. If the total costs were higher than the value of an item, it would not be auctioned.
Licence plate theft was apparently not known to the public order office
Another open question concerns the communication between the police and the public order office. According to the owner, he had reported the licence plate theft to the police. However, the public order office was apparently unaware of this information.
The city explains that the police and public order office are not automatically in dialogue in every case. In this specific case, the city does not believe that there was any such communication.
The city refers to its standardised procedure. After the legal deadline, marked with a green sticker, a specialised company was commissioned to dispose of the boat. In this particular case, they even waited about a week longer before removing the boat.
What trailer boat owners should take away from this
The case is unusual. The city of Dortmund also emphasises that there has been no comparable incident in recent years. Nevertheless, it shows a real risk that many boat owners underestimate.
Anyone parking a trailer boat in a public space should keep an eye on licence plates, deadlines and accessibility. After a licence plate theft, reporting it to the police alone may not be enough to avoid misunderstandings with other authorities. It makes sense to also inform the public order office and leave visible contact details on the trailer, if this is safely possible.
Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
