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Over 1,200 boats are currently listed as stolen on the NZ Police database, and only about 14% are ever recovered. A costly gap caused by the absence of a national boat register.

October 26th, 2025

When Bradley Croft tore through Porirua and Lower Hutt, stealing and vandalising boats, the damage topped $466,000. Four years later in Russell, thieves struck again – boats worth up to $200,000 disappeared overnight. Different regions, same problem: New Zealand still has no central register to link boats to their owners or trace them once stolen.

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