Bans them short barges with nothing on board (9)

I believe the answer is:

embargoes

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'bans' is the definition.
(I know this)

'them short barges with nothing on board' is the wordplay.
'them' becomes 'em'.
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'with' is an insertion indicator.
'nothing' becomes 'O' (O resembles 0).
'on board' becomes 's' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'barges' with its final letter taken away is 'barge'.
'barge' placed around 'o' is 'bargoe'.
'em'+'bargoe'+'s'='EMBARGOES'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for embargoes that I've seen before include "Bans" , "Trade barriers" , "Stops" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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