Commercial facilities could be plentiful on well-travelled routes yet unavailable, distant, or politically uncertain for naval use. Civilian owners put docks where merchant traffic could pay for them, while a navy might need a heavy force on a strategically important route with little trade. Commercial capacity could also be booked in peacetime and commandeered only after emergency powers became available. The Atlantic and routes beyond India show why naval planners could not assume civilian geography would solve their support problem.
Notable Point · 4:39-6:43
Commercial docks do not guarantee strategic coverage
Civilian dry docks followed trade routes, while a global navy needed repair capacity where strategy demanded it.