After Revelations: Sund & Bælt Acknowledges Challenges in the Femern Project

In recent weeks, FemernBusiness has described how internal reports point to delays in the Femern project. The reports showed that the tunnel trench could not be approved, that the pace of the lowering work could not keep up with the plan, and that the specially built vessel Ivy was delayed.

Now Sund & Bælt confirms the picture in a press release. The client acknowledges that the goal of opening in 2029 is difficult to achieve and points to the same three challenges that internal papers have previously uncovered: Ivy, the tunnel trench, and stricter regulatory requirements.

Ivy is a year and a half behind

On 26 August, FemernBusiness reported that the Ivy vessels outside Rødbyhavn had not yet been approved by the Danish Maritime Authority. The internal reports showed that the delay threatened the entire schedule.

Sund & Bælt writes that the preparation of Ivy is a year and a half behind, and that the vessel is still not fully tested or approved. 

- The Femern Belt connection is the world's longest immersed tunnel. It is a mega project, and with it inevitably come challenges and unpredictable events. Ivy is a prototype specially built for us, and it has required more time than anticipated, says CEO Mikkel Hemmingsen.

Tunnel trench rejected

Recently, FemernBusiness revealed that the contractor had rejected the data provided by Femern A/S about the tunnel trench, and that the trench could not be approved. The internal reports pointed to May 2026 as the first possible immersion.

Sund & Bælt describes the challenge as minor but confirms that there are problems. Additional geotechnical investigations have shown that parts of the trench are about 30 centimetres too deep. According to the press release, the contractors can compensate by laying a thicker layer of gravel under the elements.

Noise requirements halt the pace

FemernBusiness has also uncovered how the Natura 2000 regulations in the Fehmarn Belt make it impossible to speed up the pace. Limits on underwater noise mean that work must be stopped immediately if wildlife is exposed to too much sound.

New problems hit the Fehmarn connection

According to a status report, the tunnel trench cannot be approved. The main contractor warns of serious deficiencies, and the first tunnel element cannot be submerged until May 2026.

In the press release, Sund & Bælt highlights that the contracts for the project were signed in 2016 - long before both Covid-19, the Ukraine war, and the German environmental requirements were known. 

- The contracts are almost ten years old, and they were signed before both Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine occurred, and before we knew the extent of the German regulatory conditions, says Mikkel Hemmingsen.

Sund & Bælt states that there is ongoing dialogue with the German authorities regarding underwater noise in German waters. However, the requirements mean that accelerating the work is difficult, even if the technical problems are resolved.

Ambition in 2029

The press release emphasises that the Danish railway facilities are still on schedule. A new 110-kilometre double-track line is being constructed between Ringsted and Rødby. According to Sund & Bælt, the entire project can still be completed as a user-funded facility, as assumed in the construction law.

Fehmarn schedule crumbles: Danish delay of several years expected

No tunnel element has yet been submerged in the Fehmarn Belt. The pace must almost double if the tunnel is to open in 2029, but weather windows, environmental regulations, and lack of vessel approvals point towards a massive delay.