A SWOT Analysis of Maritime Transportation and Security in the Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea has been spotlighted as a major international maritime security concern. Maritime traffic in this region has significantly increased with the advent of new findings of huge oil and gas deposits offshore. However, this region is riddled with numerous acts of maritime piracy. Recent figures indicate that approximately 300,000 vessels transit the Gulf of Guinea sea lanes annually. It is therefore obvious that any disruption to the free flow of traffic will have consequences on maritime transportation and security. This paper conducts an analysis of the situation of oil piracy and the relationship between maritime transportation and security. The analysis was conducted using a SWOT analysis. This method proved beneficial because it provided information regarding strengths and weaknesses of maritime security, opportunities to either exploit or decrease weakness and predict potential future threats, all in consideration of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. On average, strengths were found to be least important at 36%, unimportant at 29.0%, and most important at 35%. On average, weaknesses were found to be at least important at 34.5%, unimportant at 30.6%, and most important at 34.9%. On average, opportunities were found to be least important at 35.5%, unimportant at 29.2% and most important at 35.3%. On average, threats were found to be at least important at 37.3%, unimportant at 28.8% and most important at 33.9%.