421 Fernando Ibáñez Gómez Maritime Insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea:... coordinate the various efforts. Following on from the approval, in March 2014, of the European Union’s Strategy for the Gulf of Guinea,44 some authors have proposed the appointment of a special European representative for the region that would guarantee the coordination between the various organisations and states with interest in the maritime security of the West African region.45 4. CONCLUSIONS If we were to summarise the current situation, by applying the technique of SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) to piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, the results could be expressed in the following diagram : SWOT ANALYSIS PIRACY IN THE GULF OF GUINEA Weaknesses Strengths • Poor governance. • Lack of port security. • Poor industry transparency. • Reluctance of some countries to international military presence. • Lack of convoys. • Private security regulation. • Few reported attacks. • Lack of response to distress calls. • Nigerian military capabilities. • Not failed states like Somalia. • Regional political agreement. • Possible collective response. • International support. Threats Opportunities • Pirates extend their area of operations. • High success rate of the pirates. • Pirates know how to pilot a ship. • Increasing use of mother ships. • Attacks on fishing vessels. • High risk near ports. • Corruption. • Worsening of the situation in Nigeria. • Environmental degradation. • Regional cooperation. • Joint patrols. • Rapid-response force. • International military mission. • Information sharing. • Capacities to prosecute pirates. • Private security. 44 COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. “EU Strategy on the Gulf of Guinea”, 17 March 2014: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/EN/foraff/141582.pdf. Consulted: 08/09/2014. 45 ANYIMADU, Adjoa. “Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea: Lessons Learned from the Indian Ocean”, Chatham House, July 2013, p. 16: http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/ chathamhouse/public/Research/Africa/0713pp_maritimesecurity_0.pdf Consulted: 19/08/2014.
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