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At a Glance How a Dormant Vessel Triggered a Major Seizure In January 2026, French naval forces interdicted the MV RAIDER, a 41-meter pontoon vessel, in French Polynesian waters, seizing nearly five tonnes of cocaine, with an estimated value of nearly $150 million. Although the vessel was released without charges, its risk profile illustrates how…

The Week in Focus Enforcement Is Expanding Beyond a Single Theater Western maritime enforcement is no longer confined to designation, monitoring, or administrative friction. Recent activity indicates a growing reliance on physical constraints at sea, including boardings, safety-based interventions, and access denial, applied across multiple regions rather than within a single sanctions theater. This approach…

Key Takeaways Why Maritime Access Can No Longer Be Taken for Granted For decades, maritime access was treated as a given. Shipping lanes remained open, chokepoints functioned, and infrastructure disruption was framed as an exception, something to manage during conflict or crisis. The 2026 U.S. National Defense Strategy challenges that assumption. It treats maritime routes,…

At a Glance The Maritime Logic of the 2026 National Defense Strategy The 2026 National Defense Strategy defines how U.S. defense priorities translate into action, shaping where attention, resources, and enforcement are applied. Across the document, the strategy prioritizes defending the U.S. homeland, securing economic access, and protecting critical terrain as enduring priorities rather than…