Coal, bases, and the voyage to East Asia

Why did the Second Pacific Squadron not use the Panama Canal?

The canal did not open until 1914, and even a hypothetical American route would still have depended on foreign ports, coal, repair, and diplomatic support.

The Panama Canal did not open until 1914, so it was unavailable to a squadron sailing in 1904. Even had it existed, canal transit would not have solved the force's shortage of ports, coal, repair, and diplomatic access. One hypothetical alternative ran up the American west coast, through Alaska and the Bering Strait, and down Russia's coast, but it depended on United States cooperation. The actual voyage relied heavily on French colonial access, yet France lacked the worldwide coal network that made British sea power flexible. Britain could influence the tempo of Russia's movement because it controlled abundant coal, depots, and shipping capacity. Moving faster would also have reduced the time available to work up new ships and crews.