The bizarre theft of a €1 million speedboat that ended in the waters off Ibiza

At what point did he think it was a good idea to steal a speedboat worth €1 million from Port de Sóller and take it to Ibiza? And when did he think he could outrun a Guardia Civil patrol boat and helicopter?

The 52-year-old Romanian man who allegedly stole the boat Sa Calma last Sunday had already reached the waters near Tagomago, off Ibiza, when he was intercepted by the Guardia Civil. His escape had lasted more than four hours, first with the boat’s owners pursuing him in another vessel and later with a Guardia Civil helicopter and Maritime Service patrol boat on his tail — which he even rammed.

And all without any particularly clear motive, other than apparently trying to impress a woman he had met shortly beforehand and invited out on the water. She reportedly had no idea the boat was not his.

Sa Calma ends up in Ibiza

The vessel stolen last Sunday from Port de Sóller belongs to Perfect Charter, a yacht charter company with one of its bases at the Mallorcan port.

The speedboat, named Sa Calma, was recovered after a chase lasting around four hours, during which the Guardia Civil eventually intervened by sea and air to detain the suspected thief.

According to Perfect Charter manager Chris Adamson, the theft took place at around 8.30am. A company employee was the first to realise something was wrong after checking the vessel’s GPS tracking system and discovering that it was no longer moored at Port de Sóller.

Adamson and one of his assistants reacted quickly and set off in another boat in pursuit of Sa Calma. The stolen vessel was heading towards Ibiza, prompting a chase across the sea in an attempt to catch up with it.

The pursuit continued for several hours, but the company manager eventually had to give up after running low on fuel. Adamson and his companion returned to Port de Sóller and alerted the Guardia Civil, which deployed officers by both sea and air to locate the stolen boat.

The operation ended when a Guardia Civil officer jumped aboard and overpowered the suspect. Before that, the man had rammed the force’s patrol boat close to the island of Tagomago. The 52-year-old Romanian national had no connection to Perfect Charter and was not known to the company’s owners.

The man was reportedly travelling with a woman who, according to several sources, did not know that the boat she was on had been stolen just hours earlier from Port de Sóller.

Sa Calma suffered minor damage during the incident, although it has since been repaired and returned to service. The theft and subsequent chase prompted a major security operation before officers were finally able to arrest the suspect in a risky manoeuvre.

Footage recorded from the helicopter shows Sa Calma carrying out dangerous evasive manoeuvres. One Maritime Service officer had to jump from the patrol boat after it pulled alongside the stolen vessel, overpowering the suspect and bringing the chase to an end.

The man was arrested on suspicion of stealing the vessel, assaulting a law enforcement officer and disobedience.