Wed Oct 03, 2012 11:38 am
Boat owners warned as engine thefts cost €75m a year
By Sean O’Riordan
Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Boat owners have been warned to secure their outboard motors amid an increase in engine thefts which amounts to €75m a year across Europe.
Highly organised eastern European gangs are targeting this country on a regular basis and shipping the motors back to Baltic countries for resale.
The warning came at the International Association of Marine Investigators in Cork yesterday.
Chairman Simon Lofting said the average cost of a good outboard motor could run to thousands of euro, but that owners could take relatively cheap precautions which could help police recover them.
"These gangs work in extremely well-organised groups," Mr Lofting said.
He said part of the gang will go on a spotting spree, logging locations of targets on GPS. They pass the co-ordinates on to other gang members who visit target sites and steal the engines.
"They will often drive all through the night to and from their targets. They will drive thousands of miles if necessary. They often load outboard motors into people carriers," Mr Lofting said, adding that the gang will remove serial numbers from engines, replacing them with "very good" fake plates.
They also target rigid inflatable boats (ribs) which are cloned with genuine ones, and often end up in the hands of drug-dealers. Four ribs stolen in Ireland and Britain were recently recovered in Spain.
"My advice to Irish boat owners is always take a picture of the vessel and the engine. They should note the serial numbers and use data tagging or micro-dotting. Micro chipping is very cheap and can cost as little as €20," Mr Lofting added.
Sergeant Liam Grimes of the Garda Water Unit said there had been an upsurge in outboard motor thefts in Ireland in the past five years.
This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Wednesday, October 03, 2012
Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:11 pm
Wed Oct 03, 2012 9:14 pm