Anon: The return to state sanctioned piracy or privateers may happen sooner than later. All the US has to do is just let pirates know they wont protect X ship, or choose to seize it themselves ALA iranian tankers. Hijacking unsanctioned Russian vessels or just sinking them until they pay you off. Enough to force them to waste money sending escorts.

Global shipping protection is way more expensive and important than most think. This has been pushed as an option for both Russian ships and Chinese ones. "We aren't hitting you. Our proxies operating under Letter of Marque are". And Congress still holds the explicit right to issue such things.

Add deglobalization to the mix and it means we go back to old fashioned trade wars. Most likely in choke points along the periphery of the Indian Ocean and the Baltic Sea in this case.