AMO Currents - <i>M/V Sagamore</i> one of four ships robbed near Iraq

AMO Currents - Posted: August 17, 2010

M/V Sagamore one of four ships robbed near Iraq

Officers and crew members aboard the M/V Sagamore were not injured when the ship was boarded and robbed by two gunmen armed with AK-47 rifles Sunday, Aug. 8 while anchored about 20 miles from the port of Umm Qasr.

According to media reports, Lt. John Fage, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, said the gunmen took computers, money and cell phones from crew members and fled the ship after about 40 minutes. Three other ships in the vicinity - the Armenia, Crystal Wave and Sana Star - were robbed during a two-hour period, Fage told the Associated Press.

According to media reports, Iraqi naval forces found a boat containing some of the stolen items and arrested two Iraqis. Others with them fled.

American Maritime Officers represents all licensed officers aboard the U.S.-flagged Sagamore.