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Femern director retracts criticism

The top management at Femern Link Contractors retracts critical letter in heated conflict with the Ministry of Transport.

The criticism from FLC director Sébastien Bliaut was withdrawn the day after it was sent to the Ministry of Transport. Archive photo: Anders Knudsen

Jonas Højlund Jonas Højlund Editor, FemernBusiness

Published 14 January 2026 - 12:43 Modified 27 January 2026 - 08:33

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The top management of the main contractor, Femern Link Contractors, has officially retracted an email that the consortium's managing director, Sébastien Bliaut, sent to the head of department at the Ministry of Transport amid the conflict over the Fehmarn Belt project.

In a communication sent on 9 December, Bliaut criticised the basis for the ministry's assessments of the situation at the construction site and used the phrase, among others, that there was a management crisis. However, the next day, it is all retracted.

Top management puts its foot down

The correspondence in the Femern case

19 November 2025: Sébastien Bliaut, managing director of Femern Link Contractors, contacts the Ministry of Transport's permanent secretary Jacob Heinsen via LinkedIn.

5 December 2025: Permanent secretary Jacob Heinsen writes that they are aware of a delay of approximately 20 months. He expresses concern about whether the consortium is capable of completing the project.

9 December 2025: Sébastien Bliaut challenges the basis of the ministry's assessment and writes that the case is not well-informed, calls the situation an administrative crisis and points to the authorities' trust in Sund & Bælt as the greatest risk to the project.

10 December 2025: The top management of the companies behind Femern Link Contractors withdraws Bliaut's letter of 9 December.

The retraction occurs in an email sent on behalf of the top management of the companies behind the consortium. The criticism is simply withdrawn on behalf of the directors of the companies behind Femern Link Contractors, and according to the email, the letter was written by “one of our employees.”

Among the recipients of the email are top executives from several of the central partner firms in the consortium, including Per Aarsleff, DEME, and Max Bögl.

The retraction is forwarded to the Ministry of Transport via Sund & Bælt, which is the state's ownership and holding company in the area. Sund & Bælt owns Femern A/S, which is the client for the Fehmarn Belt connection, while Femern Link Contractors is the main contractor.

Filled with conflicts

The Femern construction is characterised by a stalemate conflict between the client and the main contractor regarding delays in the immersion work, issues with the immersion vessel Ivy, and disagreement over the quality of the tunnel trench, which is the foundation for the entire tunnel. At the same time, there are billion-dollar claims and an international arbitration case between the parties concerning both responsibility and finances.

It has not been possible to obtain a comment from Femern Link Contractors.