​​​​​Dr Curtis Bell (PhD), Associate Professor, US Naval War College and Research Fellow with the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa (SIGLA), was the lead author of a 2021 report, commissioned by the UNODC and funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs of Norway, to determine the economic costs of piracy to twelve countries in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG). Professor Bell is also a director at the Stable Seas Foundation and developed the Maritime Security Index, a measuring instrument to assess maritime security of African coastal countries. 

The report accounts for direct, indirect and opportunity costs faced by countries and concluded that a total cost of approximately $1.925 billion burdens GoG countries due to piracy, affiliated costs, and responses from littoral states. The report, Pirates of the Gulf of Guinea: A Cost Analysis for Coastal States, is available at: https://www.stableseas.org/post/pirates-of-the-gulf-of-guinea-a-cost-analysis-for-coastal-states​