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.
Bangkok Port, also known as Khlong Toei Port, is an international port on the Chao Phraya River in Khlong Toei District, Bangkok. It is operated by the Port Authority of Thailand. The port provides a conventional quay for loading and unloading cargo and includes container terminals. Its inland location limits access to ships of 12,000 deadweight tonnes or less and to vessels no longer than 172 m. Container ships have a maximum draft of 8.2 m. The port area occupies over 900 acres (3.6 km²).
The port includes east and west quays, Dolphin Khlong Toei, Dolphin Hua Sua, and a mooring buoy at Sathu Pradit. The east quay is 1,528 m long with eight berths, while the west quay is 1,660 m long with ten berths. Port development included dredging navigational channels from the mouth of the Chao Phraya River in Samut Prakan Province to Bangkok Port over a total distance of 66 km. In FY2016, Bangkok Port recorded 3,067 vessel calls, 21 million tonnes of cargo, and 1.5 million TEUs. Container terminal 1 covers 9.9 ha and container terminal 2 covers 4.9 ha.
The port is situated on the Chao Phraya River, and its inland location restricts access to vessels of 12,000 deadweight tonnes or less and to ships no longer than 172 m. Container ships are limited to a maximum draft of 8.2 m. Navigation depends on channels extending 66 km from the river mouth in Samut Prakan Province to Bangkok Port. These channels and the port approaches have been subject to dredging. Underwater work must therefore be coordinated with vessel movements at a port that recorded 3,067 vessel calls in FY2016 and handled 21 million tonnes of cargo and 1.5 million TEUs.
Bangkok Port has an inland location that limits access to ships of 12,000 deadweight tonnes or less and vessels no longer than 172 m. For container ships, the maximum draft is 8.2 m. These limits define the vessel clearances relevant to underwater inspection, repair, and work around the port approaches.
The port has an east quay measuring 1,528 m with eight berths and a west quay measuring 1,660 m with ten berths. Other identified structures are Dolphin Khlong Toei, Dolphin Hua Sua, and a mooring buoy at Sathu Pradit. Their listed total lengths are 1,400 m, 1,520 m, and 1,580 m respectively.
Reference : Wikipédia — Bangkok Port
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
Read also: underwater UXO clearance · commercial diving services · offshore subsea works.