For days we have been meeting an increasing number of freighters. Some of them we saw on the AIS screen only, some we watched passing on the horizon, some less than a mile from Moya. Now they are almost moving back to back. On our starboard side the freighters are going westbound, on our port eastbound, Moya sits comfortably and cosy in between. We have arrived at a shipping lane, which officially is none and go in the highway middle lane, so to say.

After not transmitting our AIS position and going in stealth mode over the last days, we switched on our transmitter again to avoid irritating freighters. Each morning over the last three days we have been seeing AIS targets up to 250 miles away. That is quite unusual, as even the strong signals from the cargo ships usually can not be received more than 50 miles away. We are wondering, whether MSCHOA is using mobil repeaters for improved monitoring of the traffic in this area.

The IRTC, internationally recognised transit corridor, is located in international waters and therefore is not connected to national laws and none binding for the ships. Despite its formal status, almost all ships are using the corridor, as the anti piracy coalition MSCHOA focuses in patrolling that area. Yesterday, a white plane was circulating above Moya and calling us: „Japanese navy aircraft for Moya“. They were asking for our next port of call and were informing us that communication on channel 16 is monitored by the coalition warships. During the night channel 16 was surprisingly busy, some of the men at watch on the cargo ships must have been bored and were spilling their mental garbage into the atmosphere.

When entering the corridor, there is just blue ocean, nothing indicates the shipping lane. But everybody knows exactly in which 5 miles wide corridor he is supposed to move. The 2 miles wide middle lane is even more narrow, which makes sailing a bit more tricky. However, currently this isn’t even relevant as the calm is continuing and a significant current is pushing us is easterly directions. We are motoring for more than 24 hrs against it, making just 4 knots. No issue for famous RSM Queen Mary 2. The brightly lit cruise ship was quickly passing us at 22 knots heading for Jordan.