Although watercraft have been around for several years, they have not really become an interest to the West Coast residents. Not until now. This is the opinion of the Maritime Police in Gothenburg, which has recently noticed an increase in watercraft on the West Coast.

"It has only exploded this year," says Marie Felten, a police officer at the Gothenburg Maritime Police.

Lacks respect

At the same time, there have been more incidents involving watercraft in the area. And it happens when the watercraft drivers are driving far too fast, says the naval police.

- Getting up to high speeds is very fast. And there are very many who are running above their ability. At the same time, they may not have respect for other dangers on the lake, explains Marie Felten.

She believes that the watercraft drivers run far too close to bathing places, near moored boats, canoes or swimmers. Although there is free shipping out at sea, other boats have to be taken into account and follow the shipping rules, says Felten.

- You think you can drive a little anyway, but a watercraft is a ship at sea anyhow. Some run zigzags between boats. Or at the beaches. And there are watercraft not to do, it is directly inappropriate.

Want to see stricter rules

Today there is an age limit of 15 years for running watercraft. But the naval police are calling for some kind of training with driver's license to drive. The watercraft can go up to 60 knots, which is around 110 km / h, says Felten.

She explains that it is particularly risky to run a water scooter on the West Coast. Here is the archipelago with many islands that obscure the view.

- There have been some really sad accidents where people have been really injured, she says and continues:

- It's like a motorcycle on water. And you have no protective device, no helmet. If you get thrown or run against something, it can go as bad as any. We are very worried that more accidents will happen.