The power of a fight-to-fix mentality
From two-storey-high generators that could power the city of Darwin, to power points and everything in between – electrical marine technicians work hard to keep Navy’s lights on.
CAPTION: Navy sailor Leading Seaman Marine Technician Electrical Nikolas Jercic conducts electrical testing on board HMAS Adelaide. Story and photo by Corporal Michael Rogers.
Across the fleet, they are responsible for ships’ electrical power generation and distribution systems, including alternators, electrical switchboards, lighting and corrosion protection.
But landing helicopter docks, such as HMAS Adelaide, rely on electricity to power their main azimuth thrusters for propulsion, making electricians vital.
A senior electrical maintainer on board Adelaide, Leading Seaman Nikolas Jercic, said without electrical technicians, the ship couldn’t function.
“We supply the power, the propulsion, drinking and shower water, everything you could think of. Without us, the ship wouldn’t be inhabitable,” Leading Seaman Jercic said.
They repair electrical defects in everything from motor control systems to control monitoring systems, gas, heat and pressure sensors.
They also maintain domestic appliances in the kitchen and laundries, as well as communication ports such as Ethernet, profibus and serial link connections.
Leading Seaman Jercic said working with equipment outputting up to 6600 volts was interesting, though not for everyone.
“Electrical work is a different beast. You really have to know and understand it well due to the dangerous nature of the equipment,” Leading Seaman Jercic said.
“Some people, if they can’t hear or see something, they don’t want to work on it.
“That’s exactly what electricity is, so it can throw people off when they work around it, which is dangerous.”
Leading Seaman Jercic grew up in North Haven, Adelaide, and joined the Navy in 2014, aiming to travel and see the world while gaining a trade.
Since then, he has visited Solomon Islands, Tonga and Hawaii during Indo-Pacific Endeavour.
He was on board when Adelaide delivered more than 100 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Fiji after Cyclone Yasa devastated the islands in 2021.
Even though it was a hard time at the end of a long deployment, Leading Seaman Jercic said Fiji Assist was rewarding work.
“We would hand out the treats from the ration packs to the kids and they absolutely loved it. It was a good time,” he said.
Like any job, there are good days and bad, but Leading Seaman Jercic said the fight-to-fix mentality of his crew made the job worthwhile.
“Out in industry, you might leave a defect for a bit, but on the ship, we have to get that system back up and running ASAP to give command the capability to conduct their operations,” he said.
“The people I work around help me get through the day-to-day. Without the people I work with, I probably wouldn’t be in this job.”
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