The Eastern Fleet used hidden tankers at Addu

The approach depended on concealment, a guarded anchorage, and the ability to refuel the combat force without dragging tankers into every movement. Somerville could assign scarce destroyers and cruisers to the fighting fleet instead of a slow tanker convoy. The Leaf-class fast oilers still supported Eastern Fleet operations, but Addu provided a secure point at which to concentrate fuel. Merchant ships lost near Trincomalee were separate from the fleet train: their loss hurt food and regional transport, but it did not remove Royal Navy oilers. Addu was a theater-specific solution for the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean rather than a universal substitute for Pacific underway replenishment.