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The United States Coast Guard nabbed two men in a raid on the San Francisco Bay accused of breaking into yachts and houseboats along the Oakland-Alameda Estuary.
Oakland police spokesperson Paul Chambers told Fox News that the so-called "pirates" have been raiding boats docked along the 800-foot wide waterway over the past few months.
They use a smaller craft to board the larger boats and then steal whatever they can get their hands on. In some cases, they steal the ships and sink them in the open water miles away.
"There has been an increase in crime on the waterway, and it's likely due to a few new anchor-out persons that have recently acquired a sailboat and anchored in the Oakland Estuary," he told the outlet in an email.
There are numerous marinas with about 3,000 boat slips in the area. Many people live on their boats and have been on edge due to the recent uptick in crime.
"It's gotten to the point where I am sleeping with a weapon next to me," Marcus Powell, who lives on a boat in one of Alameda's marinas, told the San Francisco Standard.
Authorities did identify the two suspects, but Chambers said investigators are working to build a federal case against them. He said that at least one of the men taken into custody was charged with possession of stolen property.