Man arrested after dropping anchor on moving cruise ship

An FBI affadavit obtained by the The Smoking Gun on Monday says that a California man has been charged with a felony after dropping anchor on a moving cruise ship Monday. According to the affidavit posted on The Smoking Gun website 44-year-old passenger Rich Ehlert released the rear anchor on Holland America ship MS Ryndam while it was en route from Costa Maya, Mexico to Tampa, Florida.

Ehlert has been taken into custody and faces charges of attempting to damage a vessel and endangering the ship’s safe navigation. The FBI cautions that while the ship was not damaged, the anchor could have punctured the ship and potentially caused severe flooding.

The Smoking Gun website says that:

Ehlert, who was traveling with his girlfriend, admitted to deploying the ship’s anchor and throwing the life buoy overboard. During his confession, Manning reported, Ehlert admitted entering a restricted area, donning work gloves, and taking several steps to release the anchor. Ehlert, who said he was drunk at the time, “stated that he owns a fifty foot boat with a similar anchor system to the ship’s anchor system.”

We think Ehlert might want to lay off the sauce for a bit.

[Image via SmokingGun.com]