Replica of Revolutionary War "submarine" causes scare in NYC

NEW YORK — An artist manning a replica Revolutionary War submersible caused a scare today after police found the strange-looking vessel foundering in a security zone near the docked Queen Mary 2, authorities said.

The handmade wood and fiberglass vessel, at the end of a tow rope tied to an inflatable boat, was spotted by police near the luxury ocean liner docked at the cruise ship terminal in the Buttermilk Channel, part of New York Harbor.

"It was a strange sight," Coast Guard Petty Officer Angelia Rorison said.

Police held the artist, Philip "Duke" Riley, and two other men, both from Rhode Island, for questioning. But there was no indication the trio meant any harm.

The makeshift sub "is the creative craft of three adventuresome individuals," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a news release. "It does not pose any terrorist threat. ... We can best summarize today's incident as marine mischief."

One of the Rhode Island men claimed he was descendant of the inventor of the original one-man vessel that inspired the replica, police said.

The brown, egg-shaped vessel was a replica of a submarine used during the American Revolution, Rorison said. The inflatable boat was towing the submarine, authorities said.

Rorison said the vessel resembled a diving bell, with a hatch on top, and was about 8 feet long and 4 feet wide. It was propelled by a pedal-operated paddle.

The Coast Guard issued two citations to Riley, 35, of New York — one for having an unsafe vessel, the other for violating a security zone. The sub came within 200 feet of the bow of the Queen Mary 2, 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."

Riley is a sculptor and performance artist whose work "addresses the prospect of residual but forgotten unclaimed frontiers on the edge and inside overdeveloped urban areas, and their unsuspected autonomy," according to his Web site.