English

Noun

shipping lane ‎(plural shipping lanes)

1. A route across an ocean, sea, or other body of water which is regularly used by commercial maritime vessels.
   • 1931 June 8, "Science: No Icebergs," Time:

     Something has happened to North Atlantic icebergs this season. Up to last week only two small "growlers" had floated into the shipping lanes.

   • 1987 July 30, Bernard E. Trainor, "Showdown in Gulf," New York Times {retrieved 18 Feb 2013):

     Ships line up on the buoys to insure they do not stray from the shipping lane.

   • 2008 Dec. 17, David Clarke, "Chinese ship rescued from pirates in Gulf of Aden," Reuters (retrieved 18 Feb 2013):

     A multilateral force rescued a Chinese ship from Somali pirates on Wednesday, in a sign foreign navies patrolling the shipping lane linking Europe to Asia are adopting tougher new tactics.

References

• shipping lane at OneLook Dictionary Search