Sea lane
A sea lane, sea road or shipping lane is a regularly used navigable route for large water vessels (ships) on wide waterways such as oceans and large lakes, and is preferably safe, direct and economic. During the Age of Sail, they were determined by the distribution of land masses but also by the prevailing winds, whose discovery was crucial for the success of long maritime voyages. Sea lanes are very important for seaborne trade.
Busiest shipping lanes[edit]
The world's busiest shipping lane is the Dover Strait. 500–600 vessels per day traverse the narrow strait and in 1999 1.4 billion tonnes gross, carried by 62,500 vessels passed through the strait.[2]