On 23 February, a court in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, rendered a surprising and dangerous decision. Despite clear evidence that a cargo of phosphates carried by the 60,494-dwt bulker NM Cherry Blossom (built 2015) had been properly sold by Moroccan OCP to Ballance Agri-Nutrients in New Zealand, the court decided that the cargo belonged to the Polisario Front, a rebel national liberation movement.