On German television: outboard thefts in Lower Saxony and what owners should check now

Germany's public broadcaster NDR used our map of reported boat thefts in a report on stolen outboards. What lies behind the figures and what owners should check now.

10 November 20265 min readNAMMERT Assekuradeur GmbH

On 3 November 2026 the regional programme Hallo Niedersachsen, broadcast by the German public broadcaster NDR, ran a television report on stolen outboard engines in Lower Saxony, the state between the Netherlands and Hamburg. The reporter, Atiena Abednia, had asked us in late October whether she could use our map of publicly reported thefts and whether a version for Lower Saxony alone existed. We sent both the same evening. The map appears in the report with us named as the source, and NDR has allowed us to embed the video here.

The figures on the map come from police and press reports. Between 3 January 2025 and 8 October 2026 we counted 37 publicly reported thefts of boats and engines in Lower Saxony, 20 of them outboards. This is not an official statistic. According to NDR, the state criminal police office does not record these thefts separately, and many cases never reach a press release, so the real number is likely to be higher.

Preview image, the video only starts after a click

The report shows who is hit. At the Hameln motorboat club three engines were taken, two of them 15 hp units used by the youth section, which now trains with 6 hp engines. At the Steinhuder Meer, a lake west of Hanover, the 140 hp outboard of the DLRG lifeguard boat Nemo disappeared at the end of September, a loss NDR puts at about 17,000 euros. We know both cases only from the NDR report, so they do not appear as separate points on our map, which shows only what can be dated and sourced.

For the owner of a motorboat, fishing boat or inflatable, the practical question is what the hull policy asks for. Many wordings on the market exclude outboard theft unless the engine was secured with a locking bolt or a comparable anti-theft device, or kept in a locked building. Two tightened clamp screws on the transom are usually not treated as security. Some basic covers only include theft of the whole boat, not of an engine taken off it. Read the theft section of your own policy before the boat goes into winter storage.

Clubs should check one more point: who is the policyholder. Engines used by a youth section belong to the club, and a member's own boat policy does not normally extend to them. An engine removed for the winter and kept in a locked room is often treated differently from one left on the boat, and other policies covering the same item, such as household contents, may take precedence. These are the details to clarify with the insurer while nothing has happened yet.

After a theft, almost every policy requires a prompt report to the police, and in a marina also to the harbour office. The German water police unit specialising in boat crime recommends having outboards permanently marked so that recovered engines can be returned. Keeping the engine serial number with photos of the engine makes that possible, and the number can be entered on our stolen boats page for any boat.

Worth checking

Secure the outboard with a locking bolt or engine lock, even for a single night at the jetty Take the engine off for the winter and store it in a locked room Record engine number, hull number and photos and keep them away from the boat Have the engine permanently marked Find out in your club who insures the engines of club boats Read the theft section of your policy, including what counts as a security device After a theft, report it to the police and the harbour office, then to your insurer

Common questions

Where do the 37 cases on the Lower Saxony map come from?

From police notices and press reports that we review continuously. Each case has a date and a source. Thefts that were reported to the police but never published are missing, so the real number is higher.

Is an outboard on the transom covered overnight?

That depends on the wording. Many policies require a locking bolt or a comparable anti-theft device, or storage in a locked building, and pay nothing for an engine held only by its clamp screws. Check the theft exclusions in your own policy.

Can I report a stolen engine on your site if it is insured elsewhere?

Yes. Any owner can enter a theft that has been reported to the police, with the engine number, on our stolen boats page. No name or address is shown, only the item, numbers, place and date.

Check stolen boats and engines Winter storage checklist