Tanker captains are literally rerouting shipments to avoid U.S. seizure near Venezuelan waters—and this reveals something fundamental about how sanctions actually function in practice.

Here's the thing: sanctions don't work through policy alone. You need enforcement teeth, and that means naval presence. Without actual interdiction capability on the water, embargoes become mere suggestions that traders ignore.

This is playing out in real time with oil logistics. Vessels are adding weeks to voyages, burning extra fuel, accepting margin compression—all because the cost of interception outweighs the profit. That's enforcement working as intended.

So if policymakers want effective sanctions? Naval dominance isn't optional. It's the difference between a declaration and actual market impact. The market reads force, not rhetoric.

This matters beyond energy—it shapes how trade, commodities, and supply chains respond to geopolitical pressure globally.