Jörg Ruelius uses a thick felt-tip pen to draw a mark on the chalked hull of the small sailing yacht "Trixi". A circle with a cross and the letters "PF" underneath. "Plundering authorised," he says and takes a step back. "If someone comes by and needs a spare part - they can unscrew everything." He is glad of every single part, every gram that he doesn't have to sort, unscrew or saw to pieces.
"Trixi" is not the only abandoned boat on the site of its shipyard and winter storage facility on the Ems-Jade Canal in Wilhelmshaven. Rust and peeling paint, blistered hulls and weathered wood can be found everywhere. In the cockpit of a sailing yacht, there are bailers, rags and cleaning products, as if someone were just taking a break - if it weren't for the cloudy water in the bailer and the weathered rags and labels. The hatches of a motorboat are missing, and fenders covered in verdigris are evidence of care taken long ago.
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The boatyard reads like a boat builder's encyclopaedia, from ambition to disintegration. At the front are the successful ones: accurately jacked-up sailing and motor boats whose owners pay on time, work on their boats in winter and cast off again in summer. The good customers.
In the centre of the elongated site, things become more confusing. Hobbyists and restorers are still toiling away here, some of them for years. One of them has parked a caravan next to his boat. He comes by when he has time, but that is rarely the case. The refit has been progressing in small steps for three years, "but the owner pays his rent, and that is a decisive factor," says Ruelius.
Big plans end at the "boat graveyard"
He has been running the Jade Yacht Service as a do-it-yourself business for ten years. He came here as a handyman himself, first buying a scrap boat from his predecessor and then the entire shop - a place for people who dream of having their own boat but don't have the money for an expensive boatyard with all the comforts. At Ruelius, they can refit their boats themselves at favourable conditions or simply carry out the usual winter storage work, with his help if necessary. The concept is well received, but Ruelius pays a high price for his idealism.
Because his "boat graveyard" begins further back on the site. Not even the glorious spring sunshine can gloss over it. Wild brambles are beginning to climb up the trailers and sea fences. Ruelius estimates that around a third of his fifty spaces on land and in the water are occupied by abandoned boats. Hundreds of boat owners have come to him with big plans, but one person has managed to turn a near scrap heap into a seaworthy boat in ten years.
Scrap boats cause months of litigation - and costs
The process is often the same. "Someone arrives here with big arms and excitement: 'I've bought a boat. Can I restore it here?'" says Ruelius, describing a common scene. Then, in return for a contract and rent, a parking space with electricity is provided, the boat is delivered and placed on a trestle. "There's a real euphoria at the beginning," says Ruelius, shrugging his shoulders: "And then you slowly see how it dwindles, the presence, the work done." It usually doesn't take long before the rent also stops - the signal: this is no longer going to work.
If the owners then disappear, no longer answer the phone, don't accept any mail, a months-long process ensues: debt collection order, local court, bailiff. "That always takes at least six months and costs a lot of fees, which I have to pay in advance," says Ruelius. In addition, there is the loss of the parking space that can no longer be rented out and, in the worst case, a lot of work and costs for disposal.
Theoretically, the owner bears the costs of scrap boats
Tim Buchmann is a lawyer at the Kiel law firm Tanis | Von der Mosel and is familiar with all aspects of the problem. As long as the owner pays his costs, everything is fine as long as the boat poses no danger. "But if the boat becomes a risk - for example if it sinks, leaks fuel and pollutes the environment - there is a need for action," says the lawyer, pointing out one of many possible problems. "You can also report an environmental hazard to the local authorities. They can then order the ship to be removed. The costs are borne by the owner." His law firm often receives enquiries from shipyards, marinas and winter storage operators. "These operators often have outstanding claims against the ship owner - claims for wages from shipyard work or storage fees," explains the lawyer.
Why the owners leave their boats makes little difference to the operator: "He has the boat on site and needs a handle." Getting this can be a long process. "If the operator has outstanding claims against an owner, he can assert liens. At some point, these will exceed the value of the boat. However, the prerequisite is that you first obtain a title, i.e. conduct the legal dispute with the owner," explains the lawyer. "If the owner doesn't get in touch, the boatyard operator can't simply say: I'm going to park the boat at the side of the road." Buchmann emphasises that you have to clarify what to do in each individual case. "There is no one-size-fits-all solution."
Death creates further hurdles
It can be particularly complicated if the owner is deceased. "Then you have to find out when and where he died. You have to enquire at the probate court and explain why you are entitled to know. You have to locate the heirs and clarify whether they have accepted or renounced the inheritance," explains Buchmann. This rarely takes less than a year - in the first instance, others may follow. Buchmann therefore recommends creating clear contractual regulations from the outset. "For example, to be able to dispose of the boat so that you can generate revenue with the space again."
As a shipyard or warehouse operator, you should also take a close look towards the end of a contract term. "Contracts are often concluded for one season and then extended. For boats where things could become critical, you can't extend the contracts after that. If the boat is then not collected, a claim for collection could be filed."
Bureaucracy, disposal or resale
So the stories behind the boats always require different measures. Ruelius knows them all. One of them pumped his boat empty during the day and the pump sank the boat at night. An Austrian only realised after buying a large steel cutter that he couldn't bring it home up the Rhine with a 20 hp built-in diesel. Piggyback transport was too expensive, "and then there were also health problems". The boat stayed, the owner left.
Ruelius points to a small red sailing boat on a road trailer. The owner has disappeared. The boat and trailer could cover the cancelled payments - if the trailer wasn't registered to the previous owner. "He has the papers. But I don't know who that is." The lawyer has to get involved again. In the meantime, the boat and trailer are losing value, but are still costing money. The Wilhelmshaven native spends entire days dealing with bureaucracy, disposal or resale. He even gives some of the boats away.
Sawed-up parts from other scrap boats are piled up in the cut-open hull of a GRP boat. Disposing of them costs 1,250 euros per tonne. But first Ruelius has to dismantle all the other materials from masthead to keel and separate them by type. He raises his arms briefly and drops them again. It's no use.
Two owner types leave behind scrap boats
In his experience, two types of owners are particularly susceptible to such legacies: "The young ones come here, tear everything apart and then realise that they are totally overwhelmed - in terms of time, money and knowledge," he explains. YouTube has awakened their dreams of boat life, but the reality puts an unimaginably large mountain of work in front of them. Excessive demands are the first step towards giving up the project, then the rent payments stop. That's why Ruelius always advises young ambitious people: "First of all, clamp the thing together roughly so that you can sail safely. Have fun on the water!" The best way to realise where something really needs to be done is during operation anyway.
Then there are the older gentlemen who can't make the leap. "Many are clearly no longer able to drive for health reasons, but they don't want to sell either," is his experience. "They just hang on until death do them part."
There is simply no time to instruct the bailiff for each of these cases, as Ruelius runs the business more or less on his own. He now earns his income by building special containers for wind farm operators, a lucrative job that keeps him fully occupied and allows him the dubious luxury of managing other boat owners' scrap.
No quick solution to disposal problems
Johannes Christophers, Technical Officer at the German Maritime Industries Association, knows the full extent of the growing disposal problem: "There are around 6.5 million GRP boats in the EU with a lifespan of around 50 years. This means that around 30 to 40,000 boats reach the end of their lives every year."
Although scrap boats are not a problem for all shipyards, "so far there is neither a uniform price and an organised uniform infrastructure for acceptance nor corresponding regulations on site."
Together with the European Boating Industry (EBI), his association is therefore calling for a roadmap for a circular economy for boats with concrete reform measures. The core demands include the establishment of special EU waste codes for composite materials, the promotion of scalable recycling solutions and the authorisation of decentralised dismantling of boats by shipyards. This could relieve the burden on shipyards and provide them with an additional source of income.
Improvements in boat registration and data collection are also among the demands. "This would also help the industry and could boost trade," says Christophers, as it would be beneficial for both insurers and financiers.
But until then, shipyard owners and local authorities will have to deal with the legacy issues. Not everyone will describe themselves as "happy as a pig" like Ruelius, who has turned his hobby into a profession with the business. Behind him, pylons tower into the sky. Some will drive again. But a third will die here, despite all good intentions.
Ursula Meer
Redakteurin Panorama und Reise
