Boat fuel thefts prompt calls for CCTV

Richard Evans, local democracy reporter

Thieves are stealing hundreds of litres of fuel from boats moored at Conwy harbour.

After several reports of theft and vandalism, Conwy’s harbour advisory committee heard fresh calls for CCTV as well as Wi-Fi to be installed on the quay to deter future crime.

The committee met at Bodlondeb this week to update members on issues affecting the Conwy River and quay.

Whilst the committee had already resolved in April to push for CCTV to be installed, members heard the cost of equipment could be as high as £10,000 – money the cash-strapped council doesn’t have.

Consequently the committee decided to continue to push for the CCTV and Wi-Fi by exploring all funding opportunities.

An unnamed member of the Conwy-based North Wales Cruising Club explained how thieves were stealing from boat owners.

Security

“On behalf of the cruising club, we have some considerable concerns regarding security on the river,” he said.

“The security is tied into CCTV, which is partly tied into the lack of availability of Wi-Fi on the quayside. There were boats broken into over the winter time and minorly vandalised.

“We have had recently in the last three weeks thefts of diesel from boats in reasonable quantities.

“It is not somebody going along with a small can and filling the can up from somebody else’s boat. It is hundreds of litres, and we also last week had the club launch vandalised on the water pontoon.”

He added: “We need to be able to do something about that.

“If we can get Wi-Fi onto the quayside, we can put security cameras onto the quayside and attempt to stop what seems to be a trend.”

High speeds

The speaker also said cameras would help deal with some of the “less considerate boaters” who travelled at high speeds up and down the river, damaging other boats.

Standing in for Conwy harbour master Matthew Forbes, deputy maritime officer Andrea Hughes said she was aware of the problems.

“We are aware of the theft of the fuel. I’ve had two or three boat owners contact myself, and they have reported it directly to the police as well,” she said.

“I’m aware of two or three of the boats that have had fuel gone from them, but the IT department has carried out further investigations into what would be required and has come up with some ball-park costings for the infrastructure to apply adequate coverage for whatever the areas might be.”

Cllr Sue Shotter was anxious the problem was dealt with and not “kicked into the long grass”.

“In this day and age, we really need CCTV in that area,” she said.

“So it will be a really good idea that we don’t let go of the ball and (you) keep us updated so that we’ve got a definitive date when this will be achieved.

“I think it is very easy to say we are speaking to IT, but I would hate to see this go on 12 months or more and still with little progress.”

She added: “I don’t want to see this get kicked into the long grass, so I think as a committee, we need to be on this constantly.”

The committee agreed to explore all funding options to install the CCTV cameras.