One man's art (a submarine?) runs into trouble

Duke Riley, an artist, in his Revolutionary War-era submarine replica, the Acorn, today. (Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times)

Yes, that is The New York Times' headline for this rather fascinating story. I'm going to post extensively from The NY Times article here:

What began as an unorthodox art project has become a law-enforcement headache today and the talk of the New York blogosphere.

Duke Riley, a heavily tattooed Brooklyn artist whose waterborne performance projects around the city have frequently landed him in trouble with authorities, spent the last five months building a makeshift submarine — a partial replica of what may be America’s earliest submarine, an oak sphere called the Turtle, which saw action (not particularly successful action) in New York Harbor during the Revolutionary War.

The wood and fiberglass submarine, which was launched into the New York Harbor, made its way toward a far larger vessel — the Queen Mary 2, one of the largest ocean liners in the world, which was docked at the cruise ship terminal in the Buttermilk Channel off Red Hook, Brooklyn.

What happened next was a delicate mixture of performance art and domestic security.

The Police Department released the following statement from Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, who did not seem particularly interested in the artistic or historical merit of this project:

A makeshift submarine discovered at about 10:30 this morning by an N.Y.P.D. Intelligence detective on board the Queen Mary 2 in New York Harbor is the creative craft of three adventuresome individuals. It does not pose any terrorist threat.

In addition to assigned posts including Queen Mary 2, N.Y.P.D. Harbor and SCUBA officers patrol approximately 150 square miles of navigable New York City waterways and hundreds of miles of waterfront. They employ advanced underwater camera technology in their portfolio, as well as perform coordinated surveillance under the N.Y.P.D. Counter Terrorism and Intelligence divisions ­ as demonstrated today.

While our ongoing investigation has so far yielded no suspicious devices or materials other than the vessel itself, N.Y.P.D. detectives will extensively examine Queen Mary 2 to ensure its integrity. The three individuals believed responsible are in custody and may face various charges. Meanwhile we can summarize today’s incident as marine mischief.

Mr. Riley begins preparing his vessel on Thursday, the night before the launch. Damon Winter / The New York Times.

This is just incredible. Here is a guy who was able to build a partial replica of America's first submarine, and navigate this sub out towards the Queen Mary 2 in New York City harbor in daylight! What is even more amazing is that New York Harbor patrol never spotted the Turtle replica--a detective on the Queen Mary 2 first spotted it. According to the NY Times:

The Coast Guard issued two citations to Mr. Riley, 35, whose real name is Philip Riley. One citation was for having an unsafe vessel, the other for violating a security zone, The Associated Press reported. Two men from Rhode Island, who were artistic accomplices of Mr. Riley’s and were in an inflatable boat next to the submarine, were taken in for questioning, along with Mr. Riley.

The sub came within 200 feet of the bow of the Queen Mary 2, Petty Officer Angelia Rorison of the Coast Guard said, according to The A.P. “Basically, the vessel was not safe to sail,” she said. “It had no lights, no flares. It was not registered. Instead of safety violations, this could have turned into a search and rescue.”

Mr. Riley is detained by officers from the New York Police Department after drifting close to the Queen Mary II docked in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Damon Winter / The New York Times

Riley's sub came within 200 feet of the Queen Mary 2. It is astonishing that in this modern era of technology, this technological marvel of the Revolutionary War could still show itself to be a very potent weapon. Had Riley wanted to seriously attack the Queen Mary 2, he could have launched his submarine at night, when New York Harbor patrol would probably have never seen the replica sub at all. But Riley's sub was not a weapon--it was a combination of art, history, and perhaps even a political statement on our paranoia of homeland security.

And that is the second little observation that I found interesting on this article. When you look at the first paragraph of the New York City Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly's press statement, it basically said that the department discovered the sub heading towards the Queen Mary 2, and that the sub didn't pose a terrorist threat. But then look at the second and third paragraphs of that statement:

In addition to assigned posts including Queen Mary 2, N.Y.P.D. Harbor and SCUBA officers patrol approximately 150 square miles of navigable New York City waterways and hundreds of miles of waterfront. They employ advanced underwater camera technology in their portfolio, as well as perform coordinated surveillance under the N.Y.P.D. Counter Terrorism and Intelligence divisions ­ as demonstrated today.

While our ongoing investigation has so far yielded no suspicious devices or materials other than the vessel itself, N.Y.P.D. detectives will extensively examine Queen Mary 2 to ensure its integrity. The three individuals believed responsible are in custody and may face various charges. Meanwhile we can summarize today’s incident as marine mischief.

You've got to love the contradiction here. We've discovered a makeshift submarine heading towards the Queen Mary 2 that actually didn't pose a terrorist threat. Of course Commissioner Kelly never bothers to mention that Riley's sub came within 200 feet of the Queen Mary's bow. Instead Commissioner Kelly launches into this stirring speech of how successful the New York City Police and Harbor patrol officers were in protecting New York City's harbor and waterfront area with the most advanced underwater camera technology and surveillance equipment as demonstrated in this thwarting of a potential terrorist attack by a makeshift sub. Excuse me? Riley's sub was spotted by a sharp-eyed detective who was on the Queen Mary 2--not by the advanced underwater camera technology and surveillance equipment. And remember, Riley's sub was just 200 feet away from the Queen Mary 2. What's more, even though the New York City Police has decided that Riley's sub was not considered a terrorist threat, they are still going to investigate the Queen Mary 2--just to make sure that the ship doesn't blow up! And if you think Commissioner Kelly's praises are wacked out, consider what the Coast Guard said about Riley's sub:

The sub came within 200 feet of the bow of the Queen Mary 2, Petty Officer Angelia Rorison of the Coast Guard said, according to The A.P. “Basically, the vessel was not safe to sail,” she said. “It had no lights, no flares. It was not registered. Instead of safety violations, this could have turned into a search and rescue.”

It appears that Coast Guard Petty Officer Rorison was more concerned about Riley's make-shift sub not passing the Coast Guard Safety Protocols here! Here is your Fix-It Ticket! Have a nice day!

My criticism here isn't against the officers of the New York City Police Department or the Coast Guard who are trying to protect our waterways and harbors. My criticism here is against the politicization of this story here--especially by Commissioner Kelly. Kelly takes this story and spins it as a success story against a potential terrorist threat. It wasn't a success story! Riley's sub got with 200 feet of the Queen Mary 2 in broad daylight. This was a publicity stunt. If Riley was a serious terrorist, he would have launched his sub at night to attack a ship. And the New York City police would probably have never spotted him, perhaps even after the attack. In a sense, Commissioner Kelly is no different in politicizing this story as a terror success, than President Bush has been in issuing terror threats on the American people for political gain. It is outrageous.

As for the Coast Guard's response, I'm more amused rather than outraged. From what was written in the story, the Coast Guard didn't bring up the big terror threat of Riley's sub, but was more concerned about the lack of safety issues on this make-shift sub. Safety issues on a make-shift sub? Petty Officer Angelia Rorison seemed more like an overly concerned mother, exclaiming, "Now children--don't build make-shift submarines without your proper Coast Guard safety tips!" It is like an overt warning to Americans who may be seriously thinking about building their own backyard submarines, and a constant smothering of safety first. It is not as outrageous as Commissioner Kelly's PR-terror success story, but just as strange. However I will give Rorison a major brownie point here--the Coast Guard did report that Riley's sub came within 200 feet of the Queen Mary 2. Commissioner Kelly never reported that fact in his terror success statement.

Even in this strange story of a man's art or submarine, we can still find the crass politicalization of terrorism.