Operation Atalanta, NATO and Combined Task Force 151 have called upon the shipping industry to continue to take anti-piracy measures despite the current downward trend in piracy events.

Carriers shipping cargo through Canadian and Mexican ports do not violate any U.S. law, treaty, agreement or Federal Maritime Commission regulation, according to an FMC study prompted by members of Congress.

The North American Emission Control Area (ECA), under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), went into effective Aug. 1, 2012, bringing stricter controls on emissions of sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter for ships trading off the coasts of Canada, the United States and the French overseas collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.

High-seas piracy has not changed much in the last 3,000 years and you can bet a keg of rum, a colorful parrot and some buried treasure that pirates will continue to be successful in the 21st Century and beyond, says a Texas A&M University at Galveston professor who has taught a course about pirates covering all time periods and locations in the world.

In an effort to prevent higher freight rates and more expensive cruise prices, Alaska has sued to block rules intended to limit pollution from large ships.

The number of pirate attacks fell sharply in the first half of 2012, led by a drop in Somali piracy, according to the International Maritime Bureau's global piracy report. At the same time, those positive numbers were offset by a worrying increase of attacks in the Gulf of Guinea.

The economics of international trade demand that transportation planners and researchers continually seek methods by which to improve the productivity, efficiency and cost competitiveness of freight transport. These methods have included several developments in intermodal transportation technology and also in the design of intermodal terminals.

The results of a recent survey conducted by the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in conjunction with an international trade association have served to underline the challenges associated with thefts of recyclable metals from containers.

Earlier in the month, Congress and President Obama reauthorized legislation surrounding the Export-Import Bank, ultimately extending its lending authority for another two years and increasing its credit limits.

While rail lines and highways proliferate across most of Canada and the U.S., much freight moves by water within the North American continent. Such maritime operations prevail on the Great Lakes, along the St. Lawrence Seaway and along the Mississippi River. New developments in hydroelectric power, barge-train technology, articulated ship technology and the mining industries could create a basis to develop a future barge canal that would connect parts of Western Canada to Hudson Bay and to the Beaufort Sea.