The classic theories about naval warfare is something that still influence warfare and naval theories today. In a world that changes so does the warfare, which shows a more asymmetrical character than before. Power asymmetry between actors is something to take into account today, but the history revealse unexpectadly that the weaker actor often stands as the winner. Is the theories of naval warfare that is influenced by a era of decisive battle still valid?
Not only has the power asymmetry changed in time but so has the actors, not seldom the weaker actor is of a irregular character in todays naval warfare.The question here is if a theory influenced by theories created for regular conventional forces can explain the war- fare an asymmetric irregular actor carries?
The issue this study address is Geoffrey Till ́s theory about Sea Denial and how that can explain the Sea tiger’s warfare against the Sri Lankan navy in the civil war of Sri Lanka. The result of the study shows that Tills theory can explain an irregular asymmetrical con- flict and also confirms that for a weak actor this could be warfare of success.