The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia, and directly south of the Maldives. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 individual islands – many very small – amounting to a total land area of 60 square kilometers (23 sq mi). The largest and most southerly island is Diego Garcia, 27 km2 (10 sq mi), the site of a joint military facility of the United Kingdom and the United States.
The UK separated the Chagos Archipelago from the British Colony of Mauritius in 1965 to form the British Indian Ocean Territory. Mauritius governments less in favor of UK and individuals critical of the United States military’s peacekeeping role in the region have demanded the return of the islands citing injustices borne by the removal of Chagossians from the Chagos Archipelago. Yet, many Chagossians have no desire to return to life as indentured plantation workers they had known before. The only inhabitants of the territory are British and US military personnel, and associated contractors, who collectively number around 2,500 (2012 figures). The islands are off-limits to Chagossians, casual tourists, and the media.
addresses
12345678 LR B Jones
NP 1002
Diego Garcia (BIOT)
BFPO 485 GB
United Kingdom
12345678 LR B Jones
NP 1002
Diego Garcia (BIOT)
BF1 4TG GB
United Kingdom
N. Guem
27 Back St
Diego Garcia
BBND 1ZZ
British Indian Ocean Territory
N. Guem
27 Back St
Diego Garcia
British Indian Ocean Territory
Chagos Archipelago
Indian Ocean (via Singapore)
N. Guem
DIEGO GARCIA
c/o Sure (Diego Garcia) Limited
3 Shenton Way
Unit # 02-01 Shenton House
Singapore 068805
SINGAPORE
N. Guem
BIOT POST OFFICE
DIEGO GARCIA
c/o Sure (Diego Garcia) Limited
PSC 466 Box No. 59
FPO-AP 96595-0059
USA
There is some complexity in sending mail to BIOT, thus all of the test address above. The territory is served by three postal entities, all of whom do not necessarily intersect. Two are military, and a third is civilian.
The United States military mail system:
FISC Yokosuka Site Diego Garcia
Post Office
FPO AP 96595
British mail is processed via the British Forces Post Office:
Naval Party 1002
BFPO 485
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British Government contracts Sure, Ltd. (holder of Cable & Wireless properties) as a third party to operate the local post office:
Post Office, Diego Garcia
British Indian Ocean Territory
Chagos Archipelago
Indian Ocean (via Singapore)
I have already done a test run of mail sent directly from Diego Garcia, BIOT to my address in North Carolina. A standard, First-Class mailing via Singapore takes a calendar month.
Interestingly, the BIOT Post Office has two routes for mail from the United States: International mail via Singapore or the US military mail system through the Fleet Post Office, Asia-Pacific – the latter has civilian mail via the United States Postal handed off to the U.S. Navy at its Fleet Post Office in San Francisco :
BIOT POST OFFICE
DIEGO GARCIA
c/o Sure (Diego Garcia) Limited
3 Shenton Way
Unit # 02-01 Shenton House
Singapore 068805
SINGAPORE
BIOT POST OFFICE
DIEGO GARCIA
c/o Sure (Diego Garcia) Limited
PSC 466 Box No. 59
FPO-AP 96595-0059
USA
Sending mail to BIOT will indeed be an adventure. The race is on!
who?
Loamshire Regiment is a placeholder name used by the British Army to provide examples for its procedures. For example, the Loamshire Regiment is provided by the British Forces Post Office to show how to write a British Army address. B Jones is an example name – I have decided to use B Jones and the Loamshire Regiment in an effort to subtly amuse the BFPO postmaster. Hopefully, the ruse will continue all the way to the final destination.
BFPO Specimen Address:
12345678 LCPL B Jones
B Company
1 Loamshire Regt
BFPO 61
bfpo numbers and postcode (see Akrotiri and Dhekelia)
BFPO Number | Postcode | Naval Party | Country |
| 485 | BF1 4TG | NP 1002 | Diego Garcia (BIOT) |