As was expected, a high court in South Africa delivered a politicized verdict giving ownership of the 50,000-ton Phosphate cargo on board bulk carrier Cherry Blossom to the Polisario separatists. The legal process was described by the owner of the cargo, Morocco’s OCP, as “political piracy” and a hostile act revealing the stark partiality of the South African justice system. Considering that the South African justice has no legitimacy to rule on the case, the OCP decided to withdraw from the proceedings last July. Last May, Panamanian authorities refused to hold a tanker carrying Moroccan phosphate bound for Canada on grounds that the Polisario has no jurisdictional competence in the matter. Phosphates production and related industries, an area of excellence for Morocco, has been key in the Kingdom’s African foreign policy.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 24, 2018 16:41 UTC