GIANT (Gulf of Aden Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor)

The Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden, a two-lane patrolled route established in 2009 that replaced the earlier Maritime Security Patrol Area. The corridor concentrates merchant traffic into eastbound and westbound lanes separated by a buffer, letting naval forces from EUNAVFOR Atalanta, CTF-151, and independent deployers focus protection and group ships into convoys or group transits. BMP guidance directs ships to register with MSCHOA and time their transit to the corridor. The IRTC lies in the Gulf of Aden, not the open Indian Ocean.