Routes

Since this type of shipment began nearly 30 years ago, routes have been taken through the Panama Canal, around Cape Horn and around the Cape of Good Hope. This information is public and has been for many years.

Each voyage typically takes six to eight weeks to complete and the ships are capable of completing each voyage without having to stop at any port en route.

As with other merchant vessels, the ship's journey is governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This allows ships the right of innocent passage within territorial waters (12 miles from a country's coastline).

Under the same convention, Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ's) have been established by some states for the exploitation of mineral rights and other economic activities, up to 200 miles from their coastline. Under UNCLOS, ships are allowed freedom of navigation within EEZ's, as with the rest of the high seas.

It is internationally recognized that there shall be no suspension of these maritime rights within either limit.