Port of Cotonou

🇧🇯 Benin

South Atlantic · Container Terminal

🟡 Low disruption Estimated arrival delay ~2h · Disruption score 8/100
UN/LOCODE
BJCOT
Country
🇧🇯 Benin
Port Type
Container Terminal
Ocean Region
South Atlantic
Latitude
6.3500° N
Longitude
2.4300° E

Maritime Risk Context

Cotonou in Benin connects the major commodity exporters of West Africa and South America with global markets, carrying crude oil, iron ore, soybeans, coal, and containerised goods. The Gulf of Guinea has surpassed the Gulf of Aden as the world's most active piracy zone, accounting for the majority of global incidents and the vast majority of crew kidnappings. Unlike Somali piracy's hijacking-for-ransom model, Gulf of Guinea attacks typically aim at kidnap-for-ransom, cargo theft, and oil theft from tankers. The diversion of container traffic around the Cape of Good Hope due to Red Sea security threats has increased congestion at South Atlantic bunkering ports and along the South African coast.

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Vessel Mix

No port-call data observed at Cotonou in the last 180 days. ArcNautical's AIS coverage focuses on the world's commercial shipping lanes; smaller or specialised ports may not register sufficient traffic for a meaningful breakdown.

Port State Control Context

Cotonou falls under the Abuja MoU. The Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (West & Central Africa) publishes PSC detention data via OpenSanctions. Across the last 24 months, the Abuja MoU detention dataset records 205 distinct vessel detentions (as of 2026-06-14). Vessel-level detention probability is computed by ArcNautical using flag performance, vessel age, deficiency history, and ownership opacity.

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