Sydney needs a much larger repair and support complex

Garden Island and Cockatoo Island give Sydney an existing naval and industrial base from which to expand. Permanent dry docks would need to accommodate battleships and aircraft carriers, with floating docks supplementing what Australia could build. Distance increases the fleet needed to keep ships forward because damaged vessels and those due for maintenance spend longer travelling to and from the yard. In an illustrative estimate, maintaining three capital ships near the fighting could require eight or nine in the wider rotation instead of six. A plan needing one major fleet dry dock at Singapore might therefore require two or three at Sydney. Cockatoo Island's position deep inside the harbour makes it an attractive location for these facilities. Mobile support and some facilities at Singapore would still be needed along the route.