Pirate Bay is a real place!
California ocean liners are being boarded and robbed at an alarming rate by a fearsome new breed of pirates.
A marina in the Oakland Estuary in Northern California’s Bay Area has been hit by several robberies where boats have been ransacked or stolen wholesale.
The thieves took everything from engine parts, GPS equipment and personal items, according to authorities.
“What they did to the boat is unbelievable,” owner Steven Young told CBS Bay Area, after police found the boat.
“Normally, you’d expect them to take your booze and booze and stuff like that. But they took the bait.
“They took the battle seat; they take the barbecue pit. And everything they didn’t take, they destroyed.”
Young’s 40-foot Sea Ray yacht called “Bay Escape” was docked at Embarcadero Cove Marina when it was stolen and abandoned by pirates.
Steven Young says his boat, the Bay Escape, was stolen and ransacked by pirates targeting Bay Area ports in Northern California.CBS Bay Area
Young’s insurance company told him the vessel was a “total loss” when it was recovered CBS Bay Area
Young’s bot turned up days after he reported it missing to police. He said he saw people on his boat and immediately called the police, but they never came.
The thief not only stole and ransacked Young’s boat, but also left behind a hypodermic needle and scrawled “I love Jessie” in bleach on a couch cushion, CBS reported.
Young’s board was the third to be attacked by robbers and reported to police in a matter of weeks, adding to an ongoing spate of vehicle and home invasions across the Bay Area.
Robberies are up 20% so far this year compared to the same time last year with 348 cases, according to the latest Oakland Police statistics.
There have been 19 murders so far this year and 464 aggravated assaults so far this year, up 19% and 8% respectively, compared to the same time last year.
Marina in Northern California, where pirates have taken ships and ransacked CBS Bay Area boats
The wreckage of Steven Young’s boat, which was found by police days after he reported it missing in the CBS Bay Area
Several boats were broken into, according to residents.
Young’s boat was so badly ransacked that his insurance company told him it was a “total loss.”
The Oakland Estuary is an 800-foot-wide channel that separates Oakland and Alameda. Residents say pirates sneak into the marina at night and steal what they can.
Jamie Camacho said he noticed more small boats tied up around the homeless encampment at Union Point Park in Oakland and became suspicious.
“And you wonder, where do they get these boats? Small boats are expensive,” said Camacho. “Maybe they took what little money they had to buy it, but, you know … I know a lot of friends who have lost their little boats and their outboards.”
Michael West said residents living on their boats had to arm themselves for fear of being robbed.CBS Bay Area
Michael West said some of the residents living on the boats had armed themselves against the pirates, and were preparing to engage them on their own terms.
“Someone in this marina has to defend themselves with a weapon against the pirates,” said West, who also lives on his boat. “Everyone here has a knife, a gun or a sword or a stick to protect themselves. We didn’t bother to call the police again. We will take care of it ourselves.”
Damon Taylor, who docks his sailboat at the Jack London Aquatic Center, told CBS outboard motors are expensive—a small 10-horsepower engine is about $10,000 to $15,000. He said the Oakland Police weren’t much help, so he and his fellow sailors tried to keep their ships safe.
The Oakland police are also outnumbered because there is only one marine officer who knows how to operate the police boat that is used to patrol the area.
“Fighting crime here is difficult, because we only have one full-time marine officer, and that’s myself,” said Officer Kaleo Albino.
“But the City of Oakland Police Department, we tend to make things work with what we have, and I’ve trained about ten other maritime officers on how to operate the vessel.”
Oakland Police Officer Kaleo Albino is the only marine policeman who knows how to operate the vessel patrolling the marina, but he said he is in the process of training others. CBS Bay Area
Business owners were also hit by bucaneers.
“Last week we had two of our yachts in that place broken into,” said Craig Jacobsen, president of Kedai Motor Skangut.
He claimed the attackers took the stolen goods and loaded them onto the dock and floated to the Union Point Park area near the homeless encampment.
A string of burglaries has left others living in fear.
“Over the last few months it’s gotten really bad and boats are being stolen almost every night,” former Oakland Marina harbormaster Brock DeLappe told NBC Bay Area.
“Residents in the marina are scared. They talk about forming groups, they arm themselves. Someone will get hurt if this matter is not taken seriously by the authorities.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
