Neutral Dutch islands limit a faster Sydney deployment

Extra fuel stops could let warships sustain a higher passage speed, but the location of those stops matters. Britain controlled several staging points on the route to Singapore. Some islands along the longer route belonged to the Netherlands, which might remain neutral and outside the operation. A Sydney strategy would therefore increase pressure to obtain more endurance from the ships themselves. More efficient high-pressure steam machinery becomes attractive under a requirement approaching 10,000 nautical miles. Raising passage speed from 16 to 24 knots would cut the estimated journey to roughly sixteen days, much closer to the Singapore timetable.