DATELINE: 18th September 2001

BOAT IDENTITY
The British boating industry has launched what promises to be a greatly improved boat security marking scheme.
The Boatmark scheme, run by the British Marine Industries Federation for the past five years, has previously involved the etching of visible identity numbers into the hulls of new boats. On occasion, however, these could be obliterated by thieves to avoid a boat being recognised by police.
Now, an electronic chip-based tagging system has been introduced, in which the invisible electronic tag is buried in the boat's structure at the time of build. Boat builders are being encouraged by the BMIF to adopt the scheme into their construction programmes.
In the future, therefore, boat-buying customers should consider asking a builder whether or not the scheme has been implemented for a boat being considered for purchase.
Enquiries: BMIF, 01784 223600.

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