DEME Group has achieved a major milestone with Femern Link Contractors (FLC): the first tunnel element, measuring 217 meters in length and weighing 73,000 tons, has been successfully immersed, installed in the tunnel trench and connected to the Danish portal at Rødbyhavn .
Transported earlier from the tunnel factory to the immersion site, the element was carried by immersion pontoons IVY 1 and IVY 2, carefully demoored and towed 1.7 km from the work harbor to the shallow tunnel trench.
Guided by a high‑precision alignment system, the element was lowered onto its prepared gravel foundation with remarkable accuracy. Locking fill is now being placed alongside the element to ensure long‑term stability and protection against wave impact, DEME said.
In the coming years, the remaining 88 tunnel elements will be immersed one by one and connected in an excavated trench in the seabed, at depths of up to 40 meters, progressively forming the fixed link between Denmark and Germany.
When the tunnel is completed, it will be possible to cross the Fehmarnbelt in 10 minutes by car and 7 minutes by train. The tunnel will also enable fast railway connections between Copenhagen and Hamburg in just 2.5 hours – a clear improvement on the current 5 hours.