CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A U.S. Embassy official in Venezuela says an American cargo ship captain has been freed without charge days after he was detained at a port in the South American country.
The captain of the Ocean Atlas had been detained on Thursday after authorities found three assault rifles on the vessel. U.S. officials said then that the weapons were on the ship as a standard security measure.
U.S. Embassy spokesman Gregory Adams said Monday that the captain has been released and is back aboard the ship with his crew. Adams says that once paperwork is completed, the 120-meter (396-foot) vessel can set sail from the western port of Maracaibo.
The vessel's operator, Intermarine LLC, could not be reached for comment.
