NEW YORK: A man inside a replica of a US Revolutionary War submarine was arrested on Friday after police found the strange-looking vessel partly submerged in a security zone near the docked Queen Mary 2.

The vessel and an inflatable boat were spotted by police near the luxury ocean liner docked at the cruise ship terminal in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Police arrested three men, but said there was no indication that the incident was related to terrorism.

The brown, egg-shaped wooden vessel, known as a `turtle submarine’, is a replica of a submarine used during the American Revolution, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Angelia Rorison. It looks like a diving bell, with a hatch on top, and is about 2.5 metres long and 1.2 metres wide. It is propelled by a pedal-operated paddle.

The coast guard issued two citations to Philip Riley, 35, who was inside the vessel, 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.”

The investigation began after a New York police detective noticed the sub and the raft and summoned the harbour unit. Rorison said all three men were taken in for questioning by police. “All three males are expected to be charged with a number of violations and both vessels will be secured by the harbour unit,” the police said.—AP