I'd never heard of it either, Sally, but it does exist. It does seem to be used in shipping. I have found several pages, and here's one that looks pretty official
http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/files/hn/DF0LG35.pdfIt also seems to be used in computing, though you never know when people writing in forums are making spelling mistakes.
Also, I just found this in my Oxford American Dictionary (installed on my Mac):
route |roōt; rout|
noun
a way or course taken in getting from a starting point to a destination : our route was via the Jerusalem road.
• the line of a road, path, railroad, etc.
verb ( routing |rudɪŋ| |raʊdɪŋ|; Brit. also routeing) [ trans. ]
send or direct along a specified course : all lines of communication were routed through A
But it's definitely not correct in this context (banking).