Regular Training of River Flotilla Divers at Great Depths
Monday, 8.6.2026 | Training
Divers of the Serbian Armed Forces River Flotilla implemented a training camp in diving, search and rescue at great depths, on Lake Zavoj near Pirot.
During the seven-day field activities, they mainly practiced the techniques of underwater search using different diving methods and raising a sunken object using a diving lift.
As the commander of the 93rd diving company of the 1st River Detachment of the River Flotilla, Lieutenant (N) Željko Krmpot, has explained, this training is important because divers get used to great depths, higher hydrostatic pressure and limited visibility and water temperature.
— Here, we also train the extraction of sunken objects using diving lifts. The training includes members of the 93rd Diving Company and other members of the River Flotilla who are training and have a diving qualification. During the training, it is important that the diving team acts as one. The diving team is composed of a diving leader, a reserve diver, a medical diver and diving pairs - said Lieutenant Krmpot.
After completing his military service, a member of the search and rescue team, Sergeant Đorđe Palačković, a deep sea diver, got a job in the River Flotilla as a signalman and engineman on an assault ship. While waiting for the competition for diver training, to which he immediately applied, he was gaining valuable experience in the unit.
— It was demanding and tiring, it required a lot of effort, I have always been fond of diving, because I grew up on the Jegrička River in Žablje and I have always been interested in what was under the water. It is a great honor to be a member of the 93rd Diving Company, it consists of experienced divers my younger colleagues and I learn a lot from. They showed us diving with open circuit breathing apparatus, driving rubber boats, filling diving tanks with a compressor, and I have more learning to do. This is one of the terrains that I am most willing to try, because I master many things there, Sergeant Palačković has pointed out.
In accordance with the training program, the divers first trained in the barracks in Novi Sad in a hyperbaric chamber at simulated depths of up to 50 meters, and then had training on the river as part of the “Blue Danube 26” Exercise with the Romanian Armed Forces.
The training of the Serbian Armed Forces divers is very demanding because they are expected to be ready to operate in all weather conditions, and the only guarantee for that is the highest competence, achieved by persistent training on rivers and lakes. The River Flotilla divers are trained in underwater mining, anti-mine and anti-sabotage security of important facilities on inland waterways, as well as search and rescue in all weather conditions.
