Suspected Sea Mine In W'burg Is Homemade Anchor, Cops Say

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A strange device washed up onto the Newtown Creek shore that some suspected could be a sea mine turned out to be a homemade anchor, police said.

Police got a call just before 11:30 a.m. that something that appeared to be a sea mine had washed up around 1106 Grand Street, near where the Metropolitan Avenue bridge crosses over Newtown Creek.

The bomb squad was called in to investigate the suspicious package as crowds formed around officers trying to figure out what it could be, videos from the scene show. But, after a few hours police determined that the object was actually a homemade anchor, not an explosive device.

"ESU, Harbor & the Bomb Squad have completed their investigation in regards to the possible sea mine in the vicinity of Newtown Creek," NYPD's Special Ops unit tweeted. "The item was a homemade anchor that washed ashore and poses no danger to the public."

Traffic on the bridge had been shut down to cars during the investigation, but was expected to start opening back up just after 2:30 p.m., police said.

The anchor did manage to cause some commotion online before officers found out what it was, though.

Twitter users wondered what exactly a sea mine would be used for, especially in Williamsburg's Newtown Creek. Others posted photos of dramatically large sea mines for comparison.