Fuel can pass through a hose, but solid stores require boats, wires, and exposed handling. A battleship shell was not a routine underway transfer. A protected anchorage could let ships slow down and move heavy stores more safely than they could in open water. This difference shows why replenishment doctrine has to account for the whole sustainment burden rather than oil alone.
Chapter · 16:39-18:54
Fuel is only one part of replenishment
The practical difficulty of moving food, stores, and ammunition explains why a protected base could be more useful than fuel transfer at sea.