When the Lights Go Out

Just imagine, you’re at home watching TV and all of a sudden off it goes with no word or warning. You try the remote, but no response and to make matters worse you’ve just heard a horrible grinding noise coming from the washing machine in the kitchen.  Well its time to call someone in to fix all these electrical problems.

Onboard Diligence that responsibility is handled by the ‘Systems Engineers’ or SE’s as there affectionately known. Their counter parts in the Royal Navy are known as the Weapons Engineers or WE’s. The difference ends there. On a typically Naval DD/FF the WE department will probably consist of thirty members, from Junior Ratings through to Senior Rating with specialist roles and headed by a Weapons Electrical Officer (WEO). Of course this is necessary given that they have some very impressive equipment to operate and maintain.
 
The RFA on the other hand cannot afford such luxury. The SE department will range from three members on a small ship to seven on the larger ships. A majority of the department is made up by SE officers, all of whom are trained to a high standard thus ensuring that they can maintain and rectify defects on a wide range of equipment. From Communications, Radars and computer network systems to power management and high voltage switchboards right down to domestic and galley equipment. All this is the responsibility of the Systems Engineering department, and of course not forgetting the lights when they decide to go out.

Diligence has three team members that make up the SE department. First Officer Denver Ambursley, Second Officer Roy Owen and Petty Officer Mike Thatcher.

 Mike usually looks after the lighting, domestic appliance and all the maintenance of the batteries for the lifeboats, as well as the usual daily defects from the crew quarters. He is also responsible for ensuring the weekly and monthly routines are carried out, like fire alarm testing and battery voltage checks, so he is kept quite busy. That’s not saying Denver and Roy can relax while Mike gets on with his responsibilities, far from it. The pair tend to handle the maintenance and defect repair on most of the other systems onboard.  A typical day will see all the team members at one time or another from one end of the ship to the other ‘engine room the bridge’. Working on motors one minute to navigational and comms equipment the next. A wide and varied work load. When in port the work load increases slightly. This is because it is the ideal time to work on equipment that can’t be shut down at sea.  Of course amongst all this there’s always the paperwork to do. This is usually done at the end of the day.

Denver is now on his last trip with the RFA before retirement. He joined the company in 1969 as a young lad and has probably served on all the Fleet’s ships more than once. He will be sadly missed by his fellow crew members but more importantly by the RFA as a whole. He is into all things ‘gadgetry’ and he also enjoys reading. You’ll find him relaxing in the evening with his head in a good book. Always on the go as he runs about the ship like a young gazelle. For those who know Denver one can’t quite see him taking it easy and relaxing on retirement.

Roy on the other hand is ex-Royal Navy served most of his naval career in nuclear submarines. On leaving the Navy he worked as a service engineer in the manufacturing industry before joining the RFA in 2000. Roy like Denver is always on the go and enjoy relaxing by reading and watching TV’s. He also likes to keep fit and you’ll find him most evening in the ships gym. On leave he enjoys outdoor pursuits and gardening and of course like all of seafarers the DIY list is always on the fridge door for when he gets home. 

Mike has been with the RFA since 1992.   He was an engine room motorman for many years reaching the rank of leading motorman. The opportunity came his way to cross train to the Systems Engineering world, a challenge that he thoroughly enjoyed and a benefit to the RFA.  He enjoys reading and when he is at home on leave is actively involved with the ‘scouts’ as a part time scout leader.

Diligence’s System Engineering department may be small but they ensure that the ships day to day electrical problems are kept to a minimum and the key to their success is ‘teamwork’. As all the team members would agree ‘there’s never a dull moment on Diligence.