The decision of the South African High Court on June 15, 2017, ordering to seize the Moroccan phosphate cargo destined for New Zealand and to take the case to trial, has been considered by OCP and the Moroccan Government as an indignation and a law instrumentalization for political purposes. In less than three weeks, two shipments of phosphates extracted from the subsoil of the Sahara region and exported by the company Phosboucraa were seized in Panama and South Africa respectively and were the subject of two verdicts of varying scope. On May 1, 2017, following a request by the Polisario, the South African port authorities took advantage of the entry of the vessel “Cherry Blossom” into Port Elizabeth to seize the cargo of 55,000 tons of phosphates it was
transporting to New Zealand and confiscate the ship’s documents, pending a judgment.
