Decisión nº: 001553

In February 2004 the 1971 Fund Administrative Council considered the outline of a possible global solution proposed by the Director, which included: a resolution of the differences of opinion between the parties concerning the cause of the incident; resolution of the claim submitted by the Republic of Venezuela in the Civil Court of Caracas; a declaration by the Venezuelan Courts that the criminal action against the master was time-barred and that consequently the claim for compensation against the master, the shipowner and the insurer subsidiary to the criminal action was of no effect; the payments of the balance of all settled claims; and the return of the guarantee provided by the shipowner to the Criminal Court in Cabimas. The Council instructed the Director to approach, as a matter of urgency, the Venezuelan authorities and other interested parties to search for a global solution within the framework of the Conventions of all outstanding issues along the lines proposed by the Director.