The U.S. Coast Guard has intercepted a Florida man 70 miles off the coast of South Carolina, who was trying to cross the Atlantic in a vessel resembling a giant hamster wheel.

Published 1 year ago

Reza Baluchi, an Iranian-born resident of Florida, was stopped on 26 August, just as Hurricane Franklin was powering up in the western Atlantic.  It was the fourth time the US Coast Guard had stopped Baluchi from attempting such a voyage.

Previous efforts, in 2014, 2016 and 2021, in similar homemade craft, were all terminated close to the US coastline, the Coast Guard said, adding that Baluchi had failed to submit the hydropod (the hamster-wheel vessel) used for his latest try for inspection by the service’s marine inspectors as he was required to do.

Coast Guard officers observed the contraption held together by wire and buoys, but efforts to board it failed when Baluchi replied that he was armed with a 12in knife and would attempt to commit suicide should the USCG officers attempt to remove him.

These threats and the attempted voyage resulted in Baluchi being charged with criminal conduct on the high seas according to charging documents filed in federal court in Miami.

Baluchi was taken aboard a Coast Guard cutter for basic medical attention, food, water and shelter, according to a statement, before being transferred to Miami, where he was arrested.

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Related News:

• Florida ultrarunner tries to cross Atlantic Ocean in giant hamster wheel (Running Magazine)
• Man trying to cross Atlantic in giant “hamster-wheel” charged over alleged knife threat (The Guardian).
• Florida man arrested after trying to cross Atlantic in “hamster-wheel” vessel (BBC)
• Man in contraption washes up in Florida after trying to run on water (BBC)

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