The international shipping traffic, which involves a very large number of operators and enormous amounts of money, is undoubtedly the most symbolic activity of human ocean exploitation. Ninety percent of worldwide commerce is travel by ship, which justifies the institution of rules, both mandatory and optional, in order to ensure the sustainability of this shipping traffic from a social, economic and environmental point of view. The governance of maritime shipping traffic, a major part of maritime law, relies on a number of legal instruments contained in the institutions and sources that determine it. Using these instruments for the regulation of conducts, maritime practices have put in motion a large number of contracts participating, at their own levels, in the governance of maritime transport by law. © ISTE Ltd 2015. All rights reserved.