Original sentence: (The Russian fleet had had to obtain coal from merchant vessels on most of their long voyage due to the lack of friendly fuelling ports on the journey).The Russian fleet was in poor shape for a naval battle
Edited sentence: (The Russian fleet had had to often coal at sea from merchant vessels on most of their long voyage due to the lack of friendly fuelling ports on the journey).Due to the 18,000 mile journey, the Russian fleet was in poor shape for a naval battle