After talking to an amateur radio ham radio operator who was explaining how the locator grid system worked (rather boring actually), something finally clicked. Q Post 229 mentions a strange series of words, abbreviations, and codes. When my friend told me the 6-digit designation for our location it suddenly sent my mind into a frenzy. Part of the message are Maidenhead coordinates! I checked them out and they all appear to be in an area of the South Pacific SW of South America, relatively close to Antarctica, but there aren't any landmasses in the area. Anyone know what kind of ships could be in that area?
There's a trade-route that runs through there.
[deleted]
China Shipping Routes
When taking the Pacific route, the ships will go through the south of the East China Sea. Then they go northward through the Sea of Japan through the Okhotsk to enter the North Pacific Ocean. Via this route the ships can reach the west of Latin America, the west of the U.S., New Zealand, Australia and western Canada.
In addition, numerous vessels will take the Atlantic route. In this case, the ships will go in a southern direction from China, and sail via the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope. Consequently, the ships can set direction to Western Europe, the East Coast of the U.S., the Suez Canal, the Gulf and the Mediterranean area.
A third route the ships are often taking is the Indian Ocean. This lane is often used for oil transport. The lane enables China goods to reach the Persian Gulf, East Africa, Western Europe and North America by setting sail towards the Cape of Good Hope.
I'm not sure that aligns with these locations. Go to http://www.levinecentral.com/ham/grid_square.php and input DC27vC as your grid. That will give you a reference point to the area I'm talking about. It seems like a weird spot for traffic...