 With his large fleet of ships manned by Sicilian marines and commanded by capable admirals such as Menas, Menecrates and Demochares, Sextus stopped all shipments (especially that of grain) to Rome, and blockaded Italy so as to disable trade with other nations by sea.This blockade was severely crippling to the Roman army as well as to the Italian Peninsula.Finally, as the Roman people were rioting, the members of the Triumvirate decided to recognize Sextus as the ruler of Sardinia, Corsica, and Sicily as long as he agreed to end the blockade and begin sending shipments of grain again.