naval blockades
Seaborne trade barriers
Naval blockades are military operations that use warships to seal off enemy ports or coastlines, preventing the passage of goods, supplies, and vessels.
A blockade aims to strangle an opponent economically or starve them into submission without direct combat.
Historically decisive in warfare: The Union blockade crippled Confederate trade during the Civil War.
Under international law, blockades must be declared and enforced impartially to be legitimate.
- contrabandProhibited trade goods
- sea powerMaritime military strength
- interdictionAuthoritative prohibition or blockade
- running the gauntletEnduring attacks from two lines
- merchant vesselsShips for transporting goods
siege · embargo · Cuban Missile Crisis · stranglehold · quarantine · resource scarcity · submarine warfare · close quarters · shipping lanes · high seas · black markets · international waters · coastal defense · siege warfare · smuggling networks · ports · tonnage · fleet
- naval historybattleships, admiral, battleship, navies, admirals
- naval warfarebattleship, destroyer, sea battles, warship, cruiser
- Ancient Naval Warfaregalleys, triremes, ramming, boarding, warships
- coastal defensesseawall, seawalls, sea wall, sea walls, breakwater
- Seven Years WarSeven Years War, French and Indian War, Quebec, Montreal, Treaty of Paris
- South American Navieswarships, frigates, corvettes, destroyers, submarines
naval blockadesaerial bombardment
Attack by aircraft-dropped explosives
trench warfare · cavalry charges · infantry assaults · amphibious landings
naval blockadesfreedom of navigation
Right to traverse international waters
open seas · free passage · open ports · freedom of the seas · safe harbor
naval blockadessupply lines
Routes for transporting provisions
humanitarian corridors · trade routes · blockade running · merchant shipping · provisioning