Moroccan cargo before PE court

A SOUTH African court has found itself having to adjudicate on a dispute between Moroccan companies and the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic over phosphate mined in the disputed territory.

Last month‚ a vessel named N M Cherry Blossom entered the port of Coega in Nelson Mandela Bay on its way to New Zealand.

Aboard the vessel was a cargo of phosphate mined in the Boucraa mine in the northern part of Western Sahara and loaded at the port of El Aauin in the same territory. The cargo‚ valued at $5million (R64-million)‚ had been sold to a fertiliser manufacturer in New Zealand.

Western Sahara is a disputed territory between the SADR and its Polsario Front and Morocco.

SADR and Polisario obtained an interim order from the Port Elizabeth High Court on May 1 restraining the removal of the cargo from Coega‚ pending an action to reclaim the phosphate.

Because of the novel nature of the claim and complexities of international legal issues that arose‚ the court constituted a full bench to hear the matter on the return date.

OCP‚ a Moroccan company which is the largest exporter of phosphate rock‚ and Phosboucraa – OCP’s subsidiary which mines phosphate from its Boucraa mine – opposed the application.

The SADR and the PF claimed the phosphate was part of the resources of Western Sahara and belonged to its people.

They therefore wanted the cargo to be under the jurisdiction of the court until the final determination of their right of ownership.

The court dismissed this defence and said Morocco was not a party to the proceedings. — TMG