Máximo Torres and 5 other seafarers (the plaintiffs) filed an in rem action against the MV Tiuna claiming for unpaid labour rights granted while the vessel was registered in Venezuela. Venezuela adopted in its local law the relevant provisions of the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Maritime Liens and Mortgages 1967 (MLM Convention 1967).

The vessel had been sold and reflagged to the Vanuatu registry. As the in rem action was filed and the vessel arrested 5 years after that change, the Maritime Court applied art 12 of the Law of Maritime Liens and Naval Mortgages of Venezuela (art 8.1 of the MLM Convention 1967). This provision states that the maritime lien shall be extinguished after a period of one year from the time when the secured claim arose unless the ship is arrested within that period. Therefore, the right to enforce a maritime lien against the vessel after it had changed ownership was extinguished. The plaintiffs appealed the decision.

Held: The Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ), acting as Court of Maritime Appeals, affirmed the decision. The SCJ agreed with the conclusion of the lower court, adding that the rights that arose under the law of Venezuela could only be claimed through an action in personam in Venezuela against the former shipowner, as the right to pursue the vessel in the hands of its new owner and under a new registry is precluded after one year.