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

Naval blockades are among the oldest weapons of war, using sea control to cut supplies and force an enemy’s surrender. Strait of Hormuz blockade and other major naval sieges in modern times | US-Israel war on Iran News | Al Jazeera Listen Listen (10 mins) Save Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share facebook x whatsapp-stroke copylink google Add Al Jazeera on Google info By Yasmeen Aboujabal and Alanoud Al-Thani Published On 3 May 2026 3 May 2026 The Strait of Hormuz , a narrow waterway once carrying roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas, remains effectively closed after the United States and Iran imposed competing blockades . list of 4 items end of list From Israel’s ongoing siege of the Gaza Strip to blockades during World War I, here are some notable naval blockades in modern history: Israel’s complete land, sea and air blockade of the Gaza Strip is one of the longest sieges in modern history. Advertisement Since 2008, several Freedom Flotilla vessels have attempted to break the Israeli blockade. Since 2010, all flotillas attempting to break the Gaza blockade have been intercepted or attacked by Israel in international waters.

During the Nigerian Civil War , which began in July 1967, the Nigerian federal government imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the secessionist Republic of Biafra shortly after it declared independence. The nearly three-year-long blockade ended with the Biafran surrender in January 1970. The blockade largely failed its strategic goal. The blockade ended in July 1975, when Mozambique’s newly gained independence from Portugal allowed it to credibly commit to blocking oil transit to Rhodesia, rendering the naval patrol redundant. The crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

During the Korean War, UN naval forces led by the US imposed a blockade of the North Korean port of Wonsan in February 1951, lasting nearly two and a half years. The blockade was preceded by a dangerous mine-clearance operation in October 1950. The blockade ended after 861 days with the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement in July 1953. By that point, allied naval fire had almost levelled Wonsan. The US imposed a submarine blockade against Japan during the Pacific War.

The blockade began taking shape in 1942, combining US naval submarine attacks on merchant shipping with minelaying operations to cripple Japan’s war capabilities, disrupt shipping and cut off vital supplies such as food and fuel. By 1945, oil imports had effectively ceased. After the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, Japan announced its surrender on August 15, bringing the blockade and the Pacific War to an end. In August 1915, during World War I, the Allied forces imposed a blockade of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean to cut off military supplies and weaken the Ottoman Empire’s war effort. The blockade was initiated by Britain and France, later assisted by Italy and other Allied powers.

Military supplies, munitions, oil, food and medicine were all targeted. The blockade remained in place throughout the war and lifted only when Allied forces occupied Beirut and Mount Lebanon in October 1918. The British navy began blockading Germany almost immediately after the outbreak of the war in August 1914. The naval blockade extended from t Naval blockades are among the oldest weapons of war, using sea control to cut supplies and force an enemy’s surrender. Strait of Hormuz blockade and other major naval sieges in modern times