BMP5: Best Management Practices to Deter Piracy and Enhance Maritime Security in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea

BMP5 is the fifth edition of the Best Management Practices (BMP), which are jointly produced by shipping organisations, with the support of military organisations, to help ship operators, Masters and mariners prepare for external threats to safety. This edition helps mariners detect, deter and delay threats in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. The guidance is written primarily for oil tankers and gas carriers, but much of the advice will be appropriate to other types of ship. It complements guidance on piracy in the latest IMO MSC circulars, but also addresses other threats specific to the region.

New in BMP5:

• Reordered to reflect the risk/threat assessment, planning, reporting and mitigation process.
• Updated transit corridors.
• Clear advice on the use of Private Maritime Security Contractors.
• Refreshed self-protective measures.
• Updated reporting procedures and forms, with an emphasis on the role of the mariner in reporting suspicious activity to UKMTO.
• New maritime security threats that present a real danger to mariners in the region.

This BMP5 publication updates and supersedes the guidance contained in the fourth edition published in 2011 (BMP4), which has now been withdrawn.