Switzerland is facing a sharp rise in stolen boat engines. A surge in thefts across the country points to the emergence of a low-profile but lucrative trade, driven by organised criminal networks—many of them originating in Eastern Europe.
Once rare, the scourge of boat engine theft has prompted a growing number of boat owners to remove their boats from moorings. A hobby fisherman from the canton of Vaud, who had kept his boat in a marina near Morges for years, eventually gave up after four attempted thefts in a single year—two of which were successful, reported RTS. It’s an emotional burden that’s hard to get over, he told RTS. He has since relocated his vessel to what he hopes is a safer haven.
The thefts are swift and well organised. Equipped with power tools, thieves can remove an outboard motor in minutes. The stolen engines—often worth thousands of francs—are spirited abroad and resold. Police say the trade is expanding. In the canton of Vaud alone, six such thefts were recorded in 2020; last year the figure had risen to 40. By mid-2025, that tally had already been reached.
This is a phenomenon affecting the whole of Switzerland, said a spokesman for the Vaud cantonal police. The perpetrators are mostly from organised gangs based in Eastern Europe, he said. They remove the engines here, transport them back home, and sell them on.
Some boat owners are fighting back with GPS devices that signal when the motor has been moved. This improves the chance of criminals being caught. However, hiding GPS trackers in ways that avoid detection isn’t easy. Measures like micro-dot tagging – tiny laser etched identifying dots that are very difficult to find, serial number tracking, and improved harbour security are other key deterrents.
European boat motor crime fighters have had some success. In March 2025, Swedish authorities arranged the return of 23 boat engines that had been stolen as far back as 2016, wrote the Sweden Herald. They had been recovered in Poland and Romania and traced using engine serial numbers and police data. Sweden recorded over a thousand boat engine thefts last year, with the Stockholm region particularly affected.
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