MIAMI — A Florida man who was attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a man-made hamster wheel is facing federal charges after it took the U.S. Coast Guard five days to bring him ashore, according to a criminal complaint filed in Miami.
The Coast Guard spotted Reza Ray Baluchi, 51, some 70 miles (112 kilometers) off the coast of Tybee Island, Georgia, on Aug. 26, while making preparations for Hurricane Franklin, the complaint, filed in federal court, said. Baluchi was charged Tuesday with obstruction of boarding and violation of a captain of the port order.
Baluchi told the Coast Guard crew that he was attempting to ride the “hydro-pod” vessel to England, and that he had a Florida registration, which he unable to locate for them, onboard.
The officers said the vessel was “afloat as a result of wiring and buoys” and determined that Baluchi was conducting “a manifestly unsafe voyage,” the complaint said.
When they attempted to get him to leave the vessel, Baluchi told them he had a knife and threatened to harm himself, Coast Guard Special Agent Michael A. Perez wrote in the complaint.
The next day, Baluchi threatened to blow himself up when the Coast Guard approached him again about leaving the vessel, Perez wrote.
When officers saw Baluchi holding wires they contacted the U.S. Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit to help them determine the blast radius of the bomb, Perez wrote.
On Aug. 28, the Coast…
