Man trying to cross Atlantic in giant ‘hamster wheel’ charged over alleged knife threat

US Coast Guard says Reza Baluchi, stopped off South Carolina coast, threatened crew with knife and warning of bomb

A serial adventurer intercepted off the South Carolina coast during his latest attempt to cross the Atlantic in a makeshift hydropod" was charged with criminal conduct on the high seas after holding off US Coast Guard crews with a knife and threats of a homemade bomb, court papers said.

Reza Baluchi, an Iranian-born resident of Florida, was stopped 70 miles from Georgetown in the vessel resembling a giant hamster wheel. He told officers he was trying to reach London.