(Pushes up glasses) the US Navy was officially created by Congress in 1794 [1] to fight the Barbary Pirates of Northern Africa [2].

1- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Act_of_1794

2- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_Wars

Honestly, that should work. The first rule of piracy is "Don't do anything that costs more than you could get."

A Naval escort makes an attack very expensive.