Theft in winter storage: Three outboard motors stolen in Laboe and Wendtorf - damage totalling 80,000 euros

Unknown persons stole three heavy outboard motors from winter storage in Probstei over the turn of the year. The water police assume that the perpetrators are professionally organised and are looking for witnesses.

Heavy engines professionally stolen

Boat owners in Laboe and Wendtorf are alarmed: In the period between 23 December 2025 and 13 January 2026, thieves struck at several winter storage facilities. Three high-quality outboard motors were stolen from covered yachts, while a fourth theft attempt failed. According to the police, the amount of damage totalled around 80,000 euros.

The investigators assume that the attack was targeted. "The perpetrators must have made considerable preparations," is the assessment on site. With a weight of up to 300 kilograms per engine, spontaneous theft is practically impossible. The perpetrators needed suitable lifting equipment such as cranes and means of transport to remove the bulky and heavy engines from the fenced-in site.

Thomas Krüger, harbour master in Wendtorf, told the Kieler Nachrichten newspaper that he suspected a professional approach: "The perpetrators must have known their way around. You don't just take an outboard motor that big."

Winter camps targeted by organised gangs

The thefts are part of a recurring pattern. According to the Kiel state police, attacks on boat storage facilities systematically increase during the cold season. "When the marinas are closed and the majority of boats and their accessories are in winter storage, thefts increase," explains a police spokeswoman.

The perpetrators' methods vary: In addition to unscrewing engines, complete boat hulls are also transported away on trailers, propellers are dismantled and boats are broken into. In drastic cases, thieves even saw the entire transom, including the engine, out of the hull.

Nationwide problem: over 700 outboards stolen every year

The current thefts are not an isolated incident. As recently as September 2025, on the night of 2 to 3 September seven outboard motors were stolen from a jetty on the Kleine Müritz in Vipperow. The perpetrators' approach is often sophisticated: Dry dockers are particularly at risk, but robberies also take place from the water. The thieves usually drive to the stern of the boats in a rubber dinghy, detach the often poorly secured outboard motors and lift them into the boat.

With larger engines, the perpetrators take an even more drastic approach, explains the water police on the Müritz: "A floating tyre is pushed under the stern and then the entire transom is sawn out. The engine then falls into the floating tyre", whereby the thieves also accept the sinking of the boat. Most thefts take place in the early and late season, when the harbours are not yet completely full and only a few crews stay on board overnight.

Even though the figures in official police statistics have been declining significantly since 2018, an average of over 700 outboards have been stolen in the past four years in Germany alone.

Memories of 2016: German-Polish gang operated on a grand scale

Ten years ago, a Series of outboard motor thefts very similar to the one that kept recreational boaters in Ostholstein on tenterhooks. Since spring 2016, around 90 outboards have disappeared in the Fehmarn/Großenbrode/Grömitz area. The estimated amount of damage was 200,000 euros.

The police were finally successful in their manhunt: a German-Polish gang was arrested. Four men - one from Fehmarn and three from Szczecin - were strongly suspected of stealing boat engines on a large scale and shipping them to Poland. The arrest was made possible by a witness observation and intensive investigations by the Oldenburg in Holstein criminal investigation department and the second division of the Lübeck district criminal investigation department.

How to protect your boat in winter storage

According to the police, the detection rate for thefts from boat storage facilities is difficult to quantify, as no specific statistics are kept and only total figures for larger geographical areas are recorded. All the better if the theft does not occur in the first place or if the stolen goods can be clearly identified as such.

While smaller outboard motors are comparatively easy to dismantle and take home in winter, this is not possible without considerable effort for more powerful models. The current case shows that professional thieves do not shy away from this effort.

Through bolts, with which the engine is firmly connected to the boat hull, can offer a certain degree of protection. High-quality locks are also an option. Testing outboard motor locks show, however, that hardly any lock really protects against professionals. However, time is a critical factor - the longer the boat has to be handled, the less attractive it becomes to thieves. A combination of several security measures is therefore likely to be the most effective.

In the end, however, almost any mechanical security system reaches its limits. Then it can be helpful to be able to track the stolen goods, for example with mobile trackers. These can be quite useful for on-board use, but invisible installation in an outboard motor can be difficult.

Insurers and the water police therefore recommend engraving boats, engines and equipment with a forgery-proof individual number. These individual numbers, which can be used to identify the engine after a theft, for example, are often affixed to stickers or riveted plates that can be removed relatively easily. In most federal states, such as in Hamburg, the waterway police offer a special service: boat owners can have all individual numbers permanently engraved on boats, engines or other nautical equipment.

Although engraving does not protect against theft, it has been shown in cases of theft that this makes the valuables less attractive as stolen goods because they are more difficult to sell. In addition, they can be more easily traced back to the rightful owner in the event of an inspection or after a seizure. The data can be entered into a police Boat pass be entered.

Information requested

The waterway police are asking witnesses who made suspicious observations in Laboe or Wendtorf during the period of the offence to come forward. Please call 0431 1601610 or send an e-mail to kiel.wsprv@polizei.landsh.de accepted.