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 Warsaw (Poland). 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.
Warsaw is one of the most heavily UXO-contaminated capitals in Europe. Successive devastations — the September 1939 siege, the 1943 Ghetto Uprising, the 1944 Warsaw Uprising and the systematic German demolition of the city afterwards, the January 1945 Soviet offensive — left the city's soil saturated with unexploded bombs, artillery shells, mortars, mines and demolition charges.
The Polish Armed Forces' patrole rozminowania (army EOD patrols) and the Bureau of Border Guard EOD recover thousands of munitions every year across Mazovia. Hotspots include the Praga and Wola districts, the former Powązki, Bemowo and Modlin garrisons, the Vistula riverbed and the former eastern front lines around Radzymin and Warsaw's eastern suburbs.
Major Warsaw infrastructure programmes — M2 and M3 metro extensions, S2 and S7 expressways, the Central Communication Port (CPK) preliminary works — increasingly integrate pyrotechnic historical studies and magnetometric surveys aligned with NATO STANAGs and the French Decree 2005-1325 reference framework.
Pyrotechnic historical desk study (EHT) and safety study (ESP) for any harbour, river or submerged-works project around Warsaw.
Magnetometric survey of riverbanks, canals and inland water bodies in the region of Warsaw.
Technical works in any industrial facility with submerged basins, tanks or pipelines.
Class II/III diver surveys of inland infrastructure: dams, locks, intake structures.
Subsea pyrotechnic audits, owner's-engineering support and training of local crews.
In the strategic port of Warsaw, 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 Warsaw and across Poland 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.
Yes. Riverbanks, canals, inland-port basins and reservoirs all fall within our remit. The region of Warsaw contains submerged sites of pyrotechnic interest linked to 20th-century conflicts.
Yes, through DEMINETEC Group. The parent company handles land areas while SEMTEC addresses submerged structures and wet zones on the same project.
Typically 5–15 working days depending on distance and logistics. For Warsaw, plan road transport of diving spread, ROV and mobile chamber.
Yes. SEMTEC holds hyperbaric class-B authorisations, MASE certification and works with a referenced hyperbaric occupational-health service.
The Vistula is a major Central European river flowing through Warsaw and serving as a navigable waterway between the Baltic Sea and Bydgoszcz. It is 1,047 kilometres long, has a drainage basin of 193,960 square kilometres, and records an average discharge of 1,080 cubic metres per second at Mikoszewo in Gdańsk Bay. At Warsaw, the river is associated with the Żerań Canal, which includes several smaller streams. The Vistula is divided geographically into upper, central and lower sections, with the central section extending from Sandomierz to the confluences with the Narew and Bug rivers.
The river accommodates modest CEMT class II vessels, while its depth decreases upstream. Its waterway infrastructure includes channels, bridges, flood embankments, reservoirs, pumping stations, polders and flood-control works. The Vistula’s historical and contemporary structures around Warsaw include the Kierbedź Bridge, Łazienki Bridge, Poniatowski Bridge, Maria Skłodowska-Curie Bridge, Siekierki Bridge, Świętokrzyski Bridge and General Stefan Grot-Rowecki Bridge. The river also connects with major tributaries and waterways, including the Narew, Pilica, Bzura, Brda, Wda, Wieprz and San. The Vistula continues to the Baltic through several channels and delta branches, including the Leniwka, Przekop, Śmiała Wisła, Martwa Wisła, Nogat and Szkarpawa.
The Vistula is a flowing river subject to changing water levels, floods caused by rain, snow melt and ice jams, and periods of drought and low water. Studies reported record low levels at Toruń in 2015, earlier spring high waters and lower summer flows. Navigation is limited by decreasing depth upstream, although the river accommodates modest CEMT class II vessels between the Baltic Sea and Bydgoszcz. Flood-control requirements include embankments, reservoirs, dry polders, pumping stations, overflow areas and improved forecasting. The Warsaw section is also part of a waterway with documented historical military activity during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.
The Vistula is navigable from the Baltic Sea to Bydgoszcz and can accommodate modest river vessels of CEMT class II. Farther upstream, the river depth decreases. A project to increase capacity upstream of Warsaw by constructing locks in and around Kraków was not extended further, so navigability remains limited.
The Vistula has experienced severe floods caused by rain, snow melt and ice jams. The 1997 flood damaged or weakened about 1,100 kilometres of flood embankments. Recommended and implemented measures include embankment modernisation, reservoirs, dry polders, pumping stations, improved forecasting, radar, telemetry, automatic monitoring and GIS flood-hazard mapping.
Reference : Wikipédia — Vistula
For any survey, inspection or subsea intervention in Warsaw, 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.