UKMTO Voluntary Reporting Area (VRA)

The UKMTO Voluntary Reporting Area is the zone, covering the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, and Gulf, in which merchant ships are asked to report movements and any incidents to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations in Dubai. UKMTO acts as the primary point of contact between merchant shipping and military forces, passing warnings, correlating incident reports, and relaying first notifications during attacks. Registration with the VRA is a core BMP measure.