Originally Posted by
Winemaker
Per LW:
What does the blockading country do if a vessel refuses to stop? Do they fire on them, a shot across the bow?
They're certainly not going to sink them.
Do they place a ship in front of them and dare the runner to ram? That would be a big game of chicken if it were a Chinese vessel.....
The warning shot might be followed by a disabling shot. There may be boarding parties sent over as well. Depends on the operation. I do not expect to see a filled tanker sunk as a part of this operation.
Originally Posted by
West Coast
Imagine the ships would then be boarded by the US military.
Yes, that is what has happened before.
Originally Posted by
Winemaker
Well, that's really my question. If the U.S. military stopped and boarded a Chinese vessel in international waters how would the Chinese react?
I guess that we are about to find out. As you say, 'not happily' is a likely response.
As to evading the blockade: it appears that this is already a thing...
Iran is moving tens of millions of barrels of oil through covert offshore networks to bypass the new U.S. blockade on its ports, maritime intelligence firm
Windward AI says. The blockade, which took effect April 13, came amid a two-week ceasefire and failed peace talks between the U.S. and Iran, and as President
Donald Trump insisted the waterway must remain open, through which roughly 20% of the world’s oil passes. "Iranian oil distribution continues through indirect routing and offshore transfer networks," Windward told Fox News Digital.
"As of April 13, at least 11 tankers carrying approximately 20 million barrels of Iranian oil are positioned offshore Malaysia within a ship-to-ship transfer hub," the firm determined.
This is similar to what happened with Iraqi oil embargo in the 1990's.