5.1 An essential part of BMP that applies to all
ships is liaison with Naval/Military forces. This is to ensure that
Naval/Military forces are aware of the sea passage that a ship is
about to embark upon and how vulnerable that ship is to pirate attack.
This information is essential to enable the Naval/Military forces
to best use the assets available to them. Once ships have commenced
their passage it is important that they continue to update the Naval/Military
forces on progress. The two key Naval/Military organisations to contact
are:
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5.1.1
UKMTO:
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office in Dubai is
the first point of contact for ships in the region. The day-to-day
interface between Masters and Naval/Military forces is provided by
UKMTO which talk to merchant ships and liaise directly with MSCHOA
and Naval Commanders at sea and ashore. Merchant vessels are strongly
encouraged to send regular reports to UKMTO.
These comprise:
Reporting Forms for
use in the UKMTO Voluntary Reporting Area are included at Annex B.
UKMTO uses this information to help Naval/Military forces to maintain
an accurate picture of merchant shipping (see contact details at Annex
A)
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5.1.2
MSCHOA:
The Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa (MSCHOA):
The Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa (MSCHOA)
is the planning and Coordination Centre for EU Naval forces (EUNAVFOR).
MSCHOA encourages Companies to register their vessels’ movements
prior to entering the High Risk Area (including the International
Recommended Transit Corridor ‘IRTC’) via their website
(www.mschoa.org). (See contact details at Annex A.) It should be noted
that the EUNAVFOR operational area does not extend East of 65°E.