Industrial Heist Proves Tugboat Propellers Are Worth Way More Than You'd Think

Catalytic converters, stereo systems, and airbags are just some of the vehicle parts that thieves often target. Even junk cars have valuable parts to thieves. But one recent heist showed where the real money is: tugboats. Four tugboat propellers, each of which weigh 2 tons and are nearly 10 feet across, were stolen from an industrial yard in Australia. These massive propellers help the tugboat maneuver while towing and pushing massive ships. Sneaking off with them seems like a tricky operation, but it was apparently well worth it to the thieves — the four propellers had a value of around $1.3 million. 

What made tugboat propellers the target of a heist is, they contain a lot of copper. The metal has become very desirable due to its use in electric vehicles and artificial intelligence data centers which are expanding, despite pushback. Local authorities believe the thieves planned to scrap the propellers to sell the copper on the black market — based on the going price for copper, the propellers would have been worth $51,000 when sold as scrap. 

Huge tugboat propellers are nowhere near the craziest targets of large-scale heists. In 2019, a thief stole a 75-foot railway bridge in Russia for its metal. The bridge was not in use at the time, but the theft cost $9,000 in damage to the owners of the structure. Meanwhile, in 2022, a 60-foot iron bridge was stolen from a village in India. A group of men spent three days cutting the iron under the guise that they were government workers removing the bridge. But it was then transported to a local scrap dealer's warehouse. 

In the U.K., thieves dismantled and stole a building in 2020. In a single day, two men made multiple visits to the building, which was located in a sports center. Staff attempted to stop them, but the heavy 12 x 33-foot building was still stolen. A St. Louis home was stolen in 2010, wanted for its high-quality bricks. This became a common crime at the time, with 500 bricks selling for $100 at brickyards. 

An entire beach was stolen in Jamaica after thieves took 500 truckloads of white sand from the Coral Spring resort beach. The hundreds of tons were believed to be sold to rival resorts — and it was even believed police were involved in the heist. As the saying goes, if there's a will, there's a way. Or, in these cases, if there's a valuable material, there's a way.