OCP, a state-owned company that exports phosphate rock, phosphoric acid and phosphate fertilizers, denounced on Starurday the verdict pronounced by the Port Elizabeth court regarding a phospohate cargo detained in South Africa since May 2017. Through its Twitter account, OCP declared that «predictably, the local court in Port Elizabeth, running short of arguments, rendered an unsubstained and unreasoned default summary judgement in the Cherry Blossom case». In a different tweet OCP and Phosboucraa, «which refused to participate in a trial that violates international law», stated that they «do not recognize the competence of the South African court to rule on this matter». For the record, the Port Elizabeth court ruled on Friday, 23rd of February, in the absence of the Moroccan party involved, that the Moroccan phosphate cargo belongs to the Front. Predictably, the local court in Port Elizabeth, running short of arguments, rendered an unsubstantiated and unreasoned default summary judgment in the Cherry Blossom case. — OCP (@ocpgroup) February 24, 2018 The court decided that the Polisario Front's Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) is the «owner of all the phosphate cargo currently loaded on the NM Cherry Blossom», noting that «phosphate ownership has never been legally held by the Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP) and/or Phosphates de Boucraa SA». Replying to that, OCP tweeted insisting that «this pirated cargo rightfully belongs to Phosboucraa. The Group will proudly continue to contribute to the socio-economic development of Morocco, from north to south». On the 1st of May, following a request submitted by the Polisario, a South African judge ordered the seizure of a shipment of phosphate from Phosboucraa, resulting in the vessel being immobilized in Port Elizabeth. This request was based on purely political allegations.
