Bushnell Turtle sub:
A man hunkered inside a replica of a Revolutionary War submarine was arrested Friday, 3 August 2009after police found the strange-looking vessel partly submerged in a security zone near the docked Queen Mary 2.
The vessel and an inflatable boat were spotted by police near the luxury ocean liner docked at the cruise ship terminal in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Police arrested three men.
New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the submarine did not represent a terror threat, but was "the creative craft of three adventuresome individuals."
The brown, egg-shaped wooden vessel, known as a "turtle submarine," is a replica of a submarine American Turtle used during the American Revolution, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Angelia Rorison. It looks like a diving bell, with a hatch on top, and is about 8 feet long and 4 feet wide. It is propelled by a pedal-operated paddle.
The Coast Guard issued two citations to Philip Riley, 35, of Brooklyn, who was inside the vessel, Rorison said. "Basically, the vessel was not safe to sail. It had no lights, no flares. It was not registered," she said. "Instead of safety violations, this could have turned into a search and rescue."
The investigation began after a New York police detective noticed the sub and the raft and summoned the Harbor Unit. Rorison said all three men were taken in for questioning by the NYPD.
"While our ongoing investigation has so far yielded no suspicious devices or materials other than the vessel itself, NYPD detectives will extensively examine Queen Mary 2 to ensure its integrity," said Kelly. "The three individuals believed responsible are in custody and may face various charges. Meanwhile we can summarize today's incident as marine mischief."
