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 Doha (Qatar). 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.
Doha has not been a direct battlefield, but Qatar hosts the U.S. CENTCOM forward headquarters at Al Udeid Air Base and has been a logistics hub for coalition operations across the Middle East since 1991. The Qatari EEZ in the Persian Gulf shares the regional legacy of naval-mining episodes, including those of the 1980s tanker war and the 1991 Gulf War.
Massive infrastructure investment ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Lusail City development, the Doha Metro, Hamad International Airport expansion, the North Field LNG mega-projects and Qatar Rail freight corridors generate extensive offshore and onshore works that increasingly call for UXO desk studies and underwater magnetometric surveys.
International EPC contractors active in Qatar — including French and European groups — routinely apply pyrotechnic standards aligned with Decree 2005-1325 and IFC PS 4, particularly for offshore pipelines, marine terminals and reclamation works in the Persian Gulf.
In-water survey by qualified divers, ultrasonic thickness through paint, 3D photogrammetry, IACS-class survey report for calls at Doha.
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 Doha, 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 Doha and across Qatar 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 Qatar'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 Doha.
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 Qatar.
Doha Port, Arabic: ميناء الدوحة, romanized: Mīnā’ ad Dawḩah, is a census-designated port district in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. The government established it as a deepwater port in 1971 after a project with the Japanese company Penta-Ocean to dredge access through a broad coral bar separating the shoreline from the deeper waters of the Persian Gulf. The completed port had a wharf with 2,407 feet of frontage and four berths. Its total construction cost was valued at £10 million. Milaha Port Services gained control of the port in February 2011.
The port included an outer approach channel 3.5 miles long, with a bottom depth of 27 feet and a bottom width of 350 feet. A 1.5 mile-long inner approach channel had a bottom depth of 30 feet and a bottom width of 400 feet, and broadened into a maneuvering basin. A 3,600 feet-long and 40-feet-wide causeway connected the wharf to the port. The government began work on another 757-long wharf valued at £250,000 in 1973. Doha Port was Qatar’s sole commercial port until Hamad Port was inaugurated in December 2016. It processed most types of cargo, but suspended all commercial operations immediately after Hamad Port was commissioned. Between 1975 and 1976, cargo handled at Doha increased by 770,000 tons to reach 1.2 million tons.
Access to Doha Port was constrained by a broad coral bar between the shoreline and the deeper waters of the Persian Gulf. The port therefore required large-scale dredging for direct reception of ocean-going ships. The outer approach channel has a bottom depth of 27 feet, a bottom width of 350 feet, and a length of 3.5 miles. The inner approach channel has a bottom depth of 30 feet, a bottom width of 400 feet, and a length of 1.5 miles before widening into a maneuvering basin. Cargo activity increased substantially before commercial operations moved to Hamad Port in December 2016.
The Qatari government established Doha Port as a deepwater port in 1971. The project had been agreed in 1970 with the Japanese company Penta-Ocean to dredge a channel through the broad coral bar and enable direct reception of ocean-going ships.
The outer approach channel is 3.5 miles long, with a bottom depth of 27 feet and a bottom width of 350 feet. The inner approach channel is 1.5 miles long, with a bottom depth of 30 feet and a bottom width of 400 feet, and broadens into a maneuvering basin.
Reference : Wikipédia — Doha Port
For any survey, inspection or subsea intervention in Doha, 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.