Smaller vessels do use that route.
Blight reef is about due East of the south end of the northern most magenta TSS, the "bend in the road.
The problem is that the story that the EV was taking a shortcut fits our preference for a narrative. The answer that the cause was likely a string of, at that time, unknown events is not a satisfactory story.
The safe navigation of big tankers is a process that is heavily defended. (formal plot, VTS, pilots, training, licenses)
In almost in every case the cause is going to be events that will only make sense once known. So there is a 99% chance that the simple story is wrong. But that doesn’t satisfy our demand for a story that makes sense.
Here’s another chart - you can see how much “sense” the short cut story makes in the absence of any other information.
