Reporting Formats
Reporting Formats
UKMTO acts as the primary point of contact for merchant vessels and liaison with military forces in the region
Vessels are encouraged to report their positions by email and the UKMTO website eForms at 0800UTC whilst operating in the
UKMTO Voluntary Reporting Area (VRA) . The Voluntary Reporting Scheme (VRS) form can be obtained from Admiralty chart Q6099 and in the annex of BMP5.
The merchant VRS are established to increase security and provide anti-piracy support to maintain the freedom of navigation to all vessels in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
Merchant vessels operating in these areas are strongly encouraged to report and liaise with UKMTO whilst transiting the VRA. Any vessel, owner, operator or manager choosing not to report may delay any military assistance in the event of an incident as military assets may not be expecting the ship and valuable information may not be available.
The scheme is free to participate in, and vessels of any flag or ownership are invited to participate. All information is treated in strict commercial confidence and only used within military circles.
Submitted BMP Reporting Forms will be shared with the Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean (MSCIO). Sharing this information encourages integration between maritime centres to combat piracy and other illicit activities at sea.