Warneet Yacht Club rescue boat captain Matthew Renshaw was astounded that someone would steal petrol from a rescue boat.
By Sarah Schwager
A RESCUE mission at the Warneet jetty was thwarted last week after petrol was stolen from the rescue boat at the Warneet Yacht Club.
Rescue boat captain Matthew Renshaw said a 44-foot steel boat had been let loose last Thursday night and was heading towards the Warneet jetty.
When the rescue crew attempted to intercept the boat, they discovered all 160 litres of premium grade petrol missing from the rescue boat’s tank.
“(The boat) almost took the whole jetty out,” Mr Renshaw said.
“There wasn’t much we could do without fuel in the boat. We had to ring the owner.
“We dragged one of our tenders out and he rowed out to it.”
Mr Renshaw said he could not believe someone would steal petrol from a rescue boat, especially in such a small area.
“It could have been a lot worse,” he said.
“When the rescue boat runs out of fuel there is no other boat to do the rescue.
“We’re too far away from everything. We also do all rescues for the Water Police.”
Mr Renshaw said the same steel boat was let loose on Saturday night, signalling an alarming trend.
He said the theft of petrol was happening too much and he feared next time the end results could be much more dramatic.
“I guess people think because it’s a rescue boat it is going to be full all the time,” he said.
But Mr Renshaw said the crew would now be leaving the boat unfilled as they could not afford to be put in that situation again.
He said when the Water Police rang the shop, then the boat would be fuelled.
Mr Renshaw said while this process would be slower, it was better than risking having no petrol at all.
The rescue boat is kept in a locked shed at the yacht club.
Mr Renshaw said whoever stole the petrol must have known what they were doing.
“They must have had a pumper. The tank is under the boat,” he said.
“They stole 160-plus litres of fuel and left the tank bone dry. They would have had to have enough containers to put that amount of fuel into.”
Mr Renshaw said a steel plate and padlock had been put on the door at the shed to strengthen it from the inside.
An alarm has also been installed, which sends a signal to the yacht club.
Anyone with information about the theft is urged to contact Detective Senior Constable Gary Emery at Cranbourne CIU on 5995 4577.
