Florida man arrested after trying to cross the Atlantic on a hamster wheel

A Florida man who tried cross the Atlantic Ocean on a hamster wheel artificial is facing federal charges after it took the US Coast Guard five days to bring it ashore.

The Coast Guard discovered Reza Baluchi, 51, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) off the coast of Tybee Island, Georgia, on Aug. 26 while preparing for Hurricane Franklin, according to the complaint filed in federal court.

Baluchi was accused this Tuesday of boarding obstruction and violation of an order from the port captain.

The man told the coast guard crew that he was trying to take the hydropodal boat to England and that he had a Florida license plate, who could not locate them.

Agents said the vessel was "afloat thanks to wiring and buoys" and determined that Baluchi was conducting "a manifestly unsafe trip", according to the complaint.

When they tried to get him to leave the ship, 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, he threatened to immolate himself and explode when the Coast Guard again talked to him about abandoning the ship, Pérez wrote.

When agents saw Baluchi holding cables, they contacted the U.S. Navy Explosive Disposal Unit for help determining the bomb's blast radius, Perez wrote.

On August 28, the Coast Guard cutters Campbell and Valiant arrived on site to offer support, launching a small boat to deliver food and water and give Baluchi predictions about the hurricane.

They again ordered Baluchi to abandon the boat; He refused and told them that the bomb was not real.

On August 29, the Coast Guard managed to remove Baluchi from the ship and on September 1 they took him to the Coast Guard base in Miami Beach.

Baluchi attempted a trip on a similar homemade boat in 2014, according to the complaint.

In 2015, the Coast Guard notified him of a harbormaster's order that applied to any subsequent voyages.

The navigator failed to comply with the order and was intercepted in a homemade boat in 2016. He attempted another trip in 2021 and then the Coast Guard intervened as well.