Strait of Hormuz blockade and other major naval sieges in modern times

The Strait of Hormuz, a constrictive waterway erstwhile carrying astir a 5th of the world’s lipid and gas, remains efficaciously closed aft the United States and Iran imposed competing blockades.

Naval blockades are 1 of the oldest weapons successful warfare, requiring nary crushed troops oregon invasion, conscionable the quality to chopped disconnected what an force needs to survive. These blockades person reshaped economies, societies and alliances crossed generations, sometimes with instant shockwaves, sometimes with effects lone seen later.

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From Israel’s ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip to blockades during World War I, present are immoderate notable naval blockades successful modern history:

Israel’s siege of Gaza (2007-present)

A presumption of the severely damaged Gaza City larboard arsenic fishermen enactment nether hard conditions owed to Israeli attacks, March 8, 2025 [Hamza ZH Qraiqea/Anadolu]

Israel’s implicit land, oversea and aerial blockade of the Gaza Strip is 1 of the longest sieges successful modern history.

Launched successful 2007, Israel has constricted the introduction of goods and indispensable supplies, causing a prolonged humanitarian and economical situation for the Strip’s 2.3 cardinal people, who cannot question freely.

Before Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza began successful October 2023, fishermen were restricted to 6-15 nautical miles (11-28km) from shore, good beneath the 20-nautical-mile (37km) portion guaranteed by the Oslo Accords.

After 2023, with Israel’s argumentation of starving the population, fishermen person taken utmost measures to provender their families, starring to galore being killed by Israeli fire.

Since 2008, respective Freedom Flotilla vessels person attempted to interruption the Israeli blockade. Since 2010, each flotillas attempting to interruption the Gaza blockade person been intercepted oregon attacked by Israel successful planetary waters.

On April 30, Israel raided 22 retired of the 58 vessels successful the astir caller Global Sumud Flotilla run successful planetary waters much than 1,000km (620 miles) from Gaza.

Blockade of Biafra (1967-70)

Nigerian troops entering Port Harcourt, aft routing Biafran troops during the Nigerian Civil War [File: Evening Standard/Getty Images]

During the Nigerian Civil War, which began successful July 1967, the Nigerian national authorities imposed a land, oversea and aerial blockade connected the secessionist Republic of Biafra soon aft it declared independence.

The blockade led to wide starvation, wide seen arsenic a deliberate wartime strategy, transforming a territorial struggle into a global humanitarian crisis. Death tolls vary, but it is estimated that 1 to 2 cardinal radical died, the immense bulk from hunger and illness alternatively than nonstop conflict.

The astir three-year-long blockade ended with the Biafran surrender successful January 1970.

Beira Patrol blockade (1966-75):

HMS Cleopatra’s Wasp chopper encounters an motor nonaccomplishment astatine precocious altitude during the blockade connected the Port du Beira successful 1971; the craft was recovered aft it crash-landed [File: 50tony Wikimedia Commons]

The Beira Patrol was a nine-year-long blockade by the British navy to forestall lipid from reaching Rhodesia, present-day Zimbabwe, done the Mozambican larboard of Beira, enforced nether United Nations sanctions pursuing Rhodesia’s unilateral declaration of independence.

The blockade mostly failed its strategical goal. Rhodesia continued receiving lipid via South Africa and different Mozambican ports, which the UN solution did not authorise the British navy to intercept.

Additionally, the outgo to the United Kingdom was substantial. The cognition tied up 76 naval ships implicit 9 years, with 2 frigates required connected presumption astatine each times.

The blockade ended successful July 1975, erstwhile Mozambique’s recently gained independency from Portugal allowed it to credibly perpetrate to blocking lipid transit to Rhodesia, rendering the naval patrol redundant.

Cuban Missile Crisis ‘quarantine’ (1962)

A US authoritative shows aerial views of 1 of the Cuban medium-range rocket bases, taken successful October 1962, to the members of the UN Security Council [File: AFP]

In October 1962, the US ordered a naval “quarantine” of Cuba aft US U-2 spy planes discovered Soviet atomic rocket sites nether operation connected the island.

The US deliberately called it a “quarantine” alternatively than a blockade, which would person been legally an enactment of war, aiming to forestall the Soviets from bringing successful much subject supplies and to unit them to remove the missiles already there.

The quarantine drew a enactment 500 nautical miles (920km) from Cuba’s coast, with US warships authorised to stop, search, and crook backmost immoderate vas carrying violative weapons if necessary.

The situation brought the satellite to the brink of atomic war. The then-Soviet First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev called the blockade “outright piracy” and an enactment of aggression, and initially ordered ships to proceed. For respective days, Soviet vessels steamed towards the quarantine enactment arsenic the satellite watched.

The astir unsafe signifier of the standoff lasted 13 days. An statement was reached successful which the Soviets would dismantle their violative weapons successful Cuba successful speech for a US nationalist declaration not to invade Cuba, and a concealed statement to region US Jupiter missiles from Turkiye.

The naval quarantine was formally ended connected November 20, 1962, aft each violative missiles and bombers had been withdrawn.

Blockade of Wonsan (1951-53)

US B-26 Invaders dropped para-demolition bombs astatine proviso warehouses and dock facilities astatine the Wonsan larboard successful North Korea successful 1951 [File: Wikimedia Commons]

During the Korean War, UN naval forces led by the US imposed a blockade of the North Korean larboard of Wonsan successful February 1951, lasting astir 2 and a fractional years.

It aimed to contradict the North Korean navy entree to the city, which was strategically important for its ample harbour, airfield and petroleum refinery.

The blockade was preceded by a unsafe mine-clearance cognition successful October 1950. North Korean forces had been good supplied by the Soviet Union and China with oversea mines, and during the clearance, the sweepers USS Pledge and USS Pirate were sunk, sidesplitting 12 men and wounding dozens.

The cognition successfully constrained North Korean and Chinese forces connected the eastbound coast, forcing them to divert thousands of troops and artillery pieces distant from the beforehand line. UN forces besides captured respective harbour islands, which strengthened the blockade’s grip connected the port.

The blockade ended aft 861 days with the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement successful July 1953. By that point, allied naval occurrence had astir levelled Wonsan.

US submarine blockade of Japan (1942-45)

The US sinking of the Japanese destroyer Yamakaze connected June 25, 1942 [File: US Navy via Wikimedia Commons]

The US imposed a submarine blockade against Japan during the Pacific War.

The blockade began taking signifier successful 1942, combining US naval submarine attacks connected merchant shipping with minelaying operations to cripple Japan’s warfare capabilities, disrupt shipping and chopped disconnected captious supplies specified arsenic nutrient and fuel.

As an land nation, Japan was particularly vulnerable, astir wholly babelike connected imports of oil, rubber and earthy materials. Its system and subject could not relation without unfastened oversea lanes.

Over the people of the war, US submarines sank immoderate 1,300 Japanese merchant ships and astir 200 warships. By 1945, lipid imports had efficaciously ceased.

Food imports collapsed, causing important shortages and malnutrition crossed Japan by 1945, though the grade of civilian starvation is disputed.

After the US dropped atomic bombs connected Hiroshima connected August 6 and Nagasaki connected August 9, 1945, Japan announced its surrender connected August 15, bringing the blockade and the Pacific War to an end.

Blockade of eastbound Mediterranean (1915-18)

World War I representation shows modern Palestine and Syria, published successful 1918 [File: Wikimedia Commons]

In August 1915, during World War I, the Allied forces imposed a blockade of the eastbound seashore of the Mediterranean to chopped disconnected subject supplies and weaken the Ottoman Empire’s warfare effort.

The declared country ran from the intersection of the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea successful the northbound to the Egyptian frontier successful the south. The blockade was initiated by Britain and France, aboriginal assisted by Italy and different Allied powers.

The consequences were devastating. Military supplies, munitions, oil, nutrient and medicine were each targeted. The nutrient situation was compounded by a locust plague successful 1915 and a terrible drought, contributing to terrible famine crossed Lebanon and Greater Syria.

Reports suggest the famine led to 500,000 deaths by 1918, mostly civilians, with Mount Lebanon losing an estimated one-third of its population. Mass migration followed.

The blockade remained successful spot passim the warfare and lifted lone erstwhile Allied forces occupied Beirut and Mount Lebanon successful October 1918.

Allied blockade of Germany (1914-19)

German U-35 submarine sinking the French steamer, Herault, successful the Mediterranean, disconnected Cabo San Antonio, Spain, June 23, 1916 [Courtesy of the Library of Congress]

The British navy began blockading Germany astir instantly aft the outbreak of the warfare successful August 1914.

The naval blockade extended from the English Channel to Norway, cutting disconnected Germany from the oceans.

Britain mined planetary waters to forestall ships from entering the ocean, creating information adjacent for neutral vessels.

Germany responded by declaring the seas astir the British Isles a “military area”, prompting Britain and France to prohibition each goods to and from Germany.

The blockade’s astir devastating effect was famine. The wintertime of 1916-17, known arsenic the Turnip Winter, marked 1 of the harshest years successful wartime Germany.

The blockade had chopped disconnected nutrient and fertiliser imports, a failed murphy harvest near small to autumn backmost on, and a breakdown successful nutrient organisation compounded the crisis. It is estimated that betwixt 424,000 and 763,000 civilians died from diseases related to hunger and malnutrition.

The blockade was not yet afloat lifted until July 1919, aft the Treaty of Versailles had been signed.