The recent revelation that the owner of an Algerian cargo ship whose crew was held by Somali pirates paid them $2.6m in ransom is yet another indication that the rewards these denizens reap for their illegal, life-threatening work remain a serious stumbling block to ending maritime organized crime, said William H. Watson, president and COO of AdvanFort Company, a maritime security solutions provider.

A six-month consultation period is under way in which the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will seek widespread input on the administrative burdens that may result from compliance with IMO instruments.

With all the years of studies and analyses showing the benefits of short sea shipping on America's 96,000 miles of coastline and 22,000 miles of inland waterways, there is still no federal policy on development of America's Marine Highway. In fact, the Administration has tabled discussions about maritime initiatives until 2017, which essentially means maritime policies will wait until the next administration takes office.

The cost of Somali piracy to the global economy has declined by 12.5 percent since 2011 as attacks fell sharply, a survey showed, but the cost of armed guards to protect ships soared. The annual report by the Oceans Beyond Piracy advocacy group estimated the cost of piracy at $5.7bn to 6.1bn in 2012.

The head of A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S, owner of the world's biggest container shipping line, said China's efforts to boost domestic consumption and pare reliance on exports will help carriers as imports into the country may gain.

Congress and the Administration do not understand the relationship between the U.S. merchant fleet, the military and trade. This lack of understanding has created haphazard policies that are gutting the fleet and inhibiting the private sector's ability to recapitalize our aging maritime industry. The time for action is now. Congress and the Administration are considering budget proposals that, if unopposed, would destroy the U.S. maritime industry and hand over our maritime supremacy to foreign carriers.

In a digital age where a delay of seconds or one human error can be the cause of lost revenue, wasted resources or unhappy customers, good technology becomes critical to run a business. Twelve years after the ocean shipping industry adopted e-commerce tools that resulted in an average savings of $100,000 per year and hundreds of thousands of labor hours per week, the final steps in the shipping process - invoicing and payment - are still catching up.