Best Management Practices (currently in its fifth edition, BMP5) is industry guidance — developed by shipping organizations and endorsed by IMO — providing practical self-protection measures for vessels transiting areas with piracy or armed robbery risk.

BMP is not a mandatory convention like SOLAS, but is very widely adopted across the industry and referenced in company voyage planning and Ship Security Plans for relevant transits.

Historically most closely associated with the Gulf of Aden / Horn of Africa region, BMP-style guidance is now applied more broadly wherever piracy or armed robbery risk is assessed, including parts of the Gulf of Guinea and Strait of Malacca/Singapore, with region-specific guidance updated as the risk picture changes.