Subsea works, underwater UXO clearance and hyperbaric operations.
SEMTEC, the subsea subsidiary of DEMINETEC Group, brings underwater inspection, marine UXO clearance and hyperbaric works expertise to the port and industrial community of Bangkok (Thailand). Our Class II commercial divers — certified under French Decree 2011-45 (hyperbaric class B) and trained to NEDEX/EOD standards — operate on harbours, marine structures, ships' hulls and coastal areas contaminated by 20th-century conflicts.
Bangkok was a strategic target of U.S. and British heavy bomber raids in 1944 and 1945 during the Pacific campaign. The Bang Sue and Makkasan rail yards, the Memorial Bridge, the Bang Pakong oil refinery and Japanese-occupied port facilities were repeatedly bombed, leaving an unexploded-ordnance legacy that surfaces during foundation works in central Bangkok and along the Chao Phraya river.
The Thai-Cambodian and Thai-Laotian borders, together with the southern provinces (Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat), carry a significant residual UXO and landmine legacy from the Second Indochina War spillover, the Khmer Rouge period and the southern insurgency. The Thailand Mine Action Centre (TMAC) coordinates clearance with international partners (HALO Trust, NPA, MAG).
Bangkok's mega-projects — Orange and Purple metro lines, U-Tapao and Suvarnabhumi airport expansion, Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), Map Ta Phut port — together with offshore petroleum and LNG projects in the Gulf of Thailand, increasingly include UXO desk studies and magnetometric surveys aligned with IMAS standards and the French Decree 2005-1325 reference framework.
In-water survey by qualified divers, ultrasonic thickness through paint, 3D photogrammetry, IACS-class survey report for calls at Bangkok.
Magnetometer and gradiometer survey, target identification, controlled neutralisation or recovery in coordination with local authorities.
Wet welding, oxy-arc cutting, underwater concreting, sheet-pile and quay repair.
Refloating of sunken vessels, recovery of submerged plant, crane-assisted lifting operations.
On-site recompression chamber deployment, compliant with French Decree 2011-45 and IMCA D guidance.
In the strategic port of Bangkok, SEMTEC mobilises divers, observation ROVs and marine magnetometers to secure basins, jetties, approach channels and anchorages where 20th-century munitions still routinely lie on the seabed.
SEMTEC operates in Bangkok and across Thailand from our French bases at La Seyne-sur-Mer (Var) and Wancourt (Pas-de-Calais), our Belgian office in Bruges and our Ukrainian site in Kyiv. Diving spread and naval logistics are mobilised on demand.
Depending on Thailand's history, port seabeds typically conceal sea mines (German EMC, British Mark XVII), submerged aerial bombs (250 kg–500 kg), torpedoes, large-calibre naval shells and depth charges. The preliminary EHT pinpoints the expected typology for Bangkok.
Our Class II hyperbaric-class-B divers work to 50 m on air, and we coordinate longer-duration tasks down to 90 m through saturation partners. Observation ROVs extend reconnaissance to 300 m.
A standard UWILD/IWS on a commercial vessel takes 8–24 dive hours depending on hull length, complexity, coating condition and class requirements. SEMTEC issues the class report within 5 days.
Decree 2011-45 governs hyperbaric work in France. Internationally, SEMTEC uses it as a benchmark alongside IMCA D standards and the local regulations applicable in Thailand.
For any survey, inspection or subsea intervention in Bangkok, contact our teams:
Tel: +33 (0)9 52 51 00 63
Email: contact@semtec-france.com